|
Soviet Union [USSR] STRATIFICATION OF SOVIET SOCIETY
Western authorities on the Soviet Union divide Soviet society
into various groupings or strata based primarily on occupation but
also on education, pay and remuneration, place of residence,
nationality, party membership, life-style, and, to a lesser extent,
religion. Because the state owned virtually all property, private
ownership played no role in social stratification. The influence of
private enterprise was negligible because of its small-scale and
often tenuous nature. Political decisions, not market forces,
determined who had access to resources and therefore played the
predominant role in social stratification.
Socio-Occupational Groupings
Western analysts have divided Soviet society into four broad
socio-occupational groupings. At the apex of this social pyramid
were the elite or intelligentsia, followed by white-collar workers,
blue-collar workers, and, last, agricultural workers.
Data as of May 1989
|
