Building Soviet Citizens with American Tools: Russian Revolutions and S. T. Shatskii's Rural Schools, 1905-1932. 2nd Edition

This book examines the largest experiment in radical early twentieth-century educational reform ever implemented. Focusing on the educational theory and institutions of leading pedagogue Stanislav Shatskii, it explores how early Soviet educators attempted to apply innovative educational ideas amidst the famine, war, and revolution of 1920s Russia. Although these efforts to create a radical communist educational system ultimately foundered on the unwritten rules of the Russian village and the top-down demands of Stalinist orthodoxy, they remain historically significant. The experience provides valuable insight into the early workings of the Soviet regime. During the 1920s, the Soviet Union became fertile ground for experimentation with avant-garde international ideas, including concepts drawn directly from American educational theory. At the same time, this study offers important perspectives for understanding both the achievements and limitations of the international new education movement.