Матеріальний світ дитинства та дитячі товари в радянському споживанні в 1920–1930-ті роки

Abstract

Мета даного дослідження полягає у вивченні дитячого споживання в контексті соціального та економічного життя радянської України в 1920– 1930-ті роки. Стверджується, що у цей період державні органи влади, ра дянська пропаганда створювали/відтворювали нові дитячі товари. Доведено, що в цих умовах діти стали важливими об’єктами конструювання нової культури споживання в радянському суспільстві. The purpose of this research is to investigate children’s consumption in the context of social and economical life of Soviet Ukraine in 1920–1930s. Children and childhood have already become the field of historical research in Ukraine and abroad. Nevertheless, the history of children’s consumption remains unrecognized even in those fields as history of childhood and history of consumption. By examining plans and reports of child’s goods production, newspapers, personal documents and other available sources of 1920–30s, the main aim of this research is to provoke rethinking of the meaning of consumerism, creation Soviet child’s consumption and its place in formation the Soviet style of life and everyday. By focusing on child’s consumer goods in the early Soviet society, this investigation examines the mechanisms of their distribution and allocation as well as the spaces and practices of consumption proper. In Soviet Union, idea about children as “flowers of life” was widely used and it stood on the center of the state-building project in early Soviet period. At that time, Soviet officials faced with the difficult and very important problem of creating the Soviet childhood, norms of childhood, its everyday life and child’s consumer culture as well. It is has been argued that during this era state officials, Soviet propaganda created and recreated new children’s commodities. In the 1920s was widely used and promoted in press the self-making toys. It was connected with well-known Soviet consumption practice of doing-by hand. From the middle of 1930s the children consumption has been influenced by milita rization campaign and control of state authorities over production of toys. However, children’s toys, as well as others consumer goods constituted an important yet inherently “other” dimension of materiality in the early Soviet era. Crucially, it is precisely the marginal position of these products and their consumer groups that allows us to re-evaluate the ‘norm’ of early Soviet consumption and to demonstrate the pervasive nature and persistent appeal of the ‘other’ commodities. It has been proved that in these conditions children became the objects of the construction of the new consumer culture of Soviet society. Цель данного исследования состоит в изучении детского потребления в контексте социальной и экономической жизни в советской Украине в 1920–1930-е годы. Утверждается, что в этот период государственные органы власти, советская про паганда создавали / воссоздавали новые детские товары. Доказано, что в этих условиях дети стали важными объектами конструирования новой культуры потребления в советском обществе.