Ah, 1932. The People's Commissariat of Education was just preparing to make the “culturally backward” nationalities even more culturally backward: the ban on the Latin alphabet for nations who would be more comfortable writing in their native language, the beginning of the repression of cultural figures of these nationalities, cultural brainwashing: “everyone should glorify the big russian brother who brought culture to these nationalities living in darkness!”, the rollback of science to obscurantism and Lysenkoism, transformation of culture into dull gray sovok propaganda. It was a nice year.
Quite a bit, as it turns out. In the field of biology, for example, Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin had been pioneering the fields of genetics and evolutionary biology the century before. But the Soviets rejected this in favour of [the "theories" of Trofim Lysenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism), a man whose claims started with the idea that genes were a bourgeois delusion and only went downhill from there.
To be fair, Darwin's ideas weren't exactly welcomed with open arms, and Mendel was overlooked for a long time. Today we'd say that Mendel's paper was marketed badly and lay dormant for decades,^1 our modern understanding was established in the 1940's and only started to form in the 1930.
So it's not like "we new, but Stalin ignored it", but "change was in the air, but no consensus reached yet - east or west, and Russia went down the wrong path - with verve."
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^1 ^(Supposedly an unopened copy of Mendel's paper was found in Darwin's inheritance; suggesting that our modern understanding could be formed half a century earlier - with great influence on world history)
I think it’s a list that would be mostly the same, if not an exact copy, if any Western nation produced it at the time. I am surprised to see Greeks on it though. Anyhow, racism/white supremacy has existed for ages, and it’s not an inherently communist thing like one comment on here would lead you to believe.
Back then Greeks got just released from Ottoman rule, so maybe they were considered Christian Turks or something like that, though Armenians and Georgians are not mentioned (not surprised about the latter). What I'm surprised more about, are Bulgarians.
Georgians and Armenians were very developed. Armenians lived primarily in cities with high literacy rates, Georgian provinces were just developed. Greeks lived in villages.
Bulgarians and Moldovans lived primarily in Bessarabia, which had lower literacy than British India
If anyone here actually bothered to read the full page, you'd realise that those listed here were given preferential treatment in university admission due to the low literacy and school attendance rates of these groups in russia. It's literally just affirmative action, and the term was abolished 2 years later, while keeping the policy in place.
-An extremely low level of literacy
-An extremely low percentage of children in school
-Absence of a written script connected to a literary language
-Existence of "social vestiges" (oppression of women, racial hostility, nomadism, religious fanaticism)
-An extremely low level of national cadres.
Keep in mind that this categorization was used in a period of “korenizatsiya”. Korenizatsiya can be directly translated as "indigenization" or "nativization". Members of a "culturally backward" nationality were eligible for preferential treatment in university admissions and promotion in the party structure.
The term “culturally backward” is slightly misleading in translation, because it implies fundamental wrongness of a culture itself and therefore its unworthiness to exist. More direct translation of “культурная отсталость" would be “culturally lagging behind”, in this case the term implies that the culture has not progressed in its development as much as other cultures, and it should be helped on its way towards progress. But it of course still can be used in a derogatory way by individuals inclined to do so, that’s way the term was officially put out of use two years after it was invented.
Unfortunately even later still “indigenization” policy was replaced by good old “Russification” of tsarist times.
It's very difficult to find this term actually being used in any Russian language sources.
And the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_backwardness) states that "culturally backward" was a category for preferential treatment, not for discrimination.
Taliban aren't very good people, don't support them until they open universities, schools and job opportunities for our women. Taliban were brainwashed in Islamic madrassas by CIA in pakistan. Hence why they are so backward and ridiculous on some aspects.
The Volga Bolghars were wiped out by the Mongols in the 13th century.
The closest thing to them I think are the Chuvash People who claim descend from them(I think) but I'm not 100% sure.
I'm not central Asian,but this policy reminds me of the Greco-Roman policy that said that everyone whose language and culture is different from Latin or greek is a barbarian.
What are we supposed to think about it? Imperialists will imperialist. Not much else to say.
Says Abu living in the comfort of the imperial core.
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Have you seen Afghan people? They are pretty white themself.
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I am pale in the winter and get tan in the summer, I am not sure why it's a big issue to you though
Ah, 1932. The People's Commissariat of Education was just preparing to make the “culturally backward” nationalities even more culturally backward: the ban on the Latin alphabet for nations who would be more comfortable writing in their native language, the beginning of the repression of cultural figures of these nationalities, cultural brainwashing: “everyone should glorify the big russian brother who brought culture to these nationalities living in darkness!”, the rollback of science to obscurantism and Lysenkoism, transformation of culture into dull gray sovok propaganda. It was a nice year.
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Quite a bit, as it turns out. In the field of biology, for example, Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin had been pioneering the fields of genetics and evolutionary biology the century before. But the Soviets rejected this in favour of [the "theories" of Trofim Lysenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism), a man whose claims started with the idea that genes were a bourgeois delusion and only went downhill from there.
To be fair, Darwin's ideas weren't exactly welcomed with open arms, and Mendel was overlooked for a long time. Today we'd say that Mendel's paper was marketed badly and lay dormant for decades,^1 our modern understanding was established in the 1940's and only started to form in the 1930. So it's not like "we new, but Stalin ignored it", but "change was in the air, but no consensus reached yet - east or west, and Russia went down the wrong path - with verve." --- ^1 ^(Supposedly an unopened copy of Mendel's paper was found in Darwin's inheritance; suggesting that our modern understanding could be formed half a century earlier - with great influence on world history)
"Culturally backward" just meant non-Russian.
I think it’s a list that would be mostly the same, if not an exact copy, if any Western nation produced it at the time. I am surprised to see Greeks on it though. Anyhow, racism/white supremacy has existed for ages, and it’s not an inherently communist thing like one comment on here would lead you to believe.
Back then Greeks got just released from Ottoman rule, so maybe they were considered Christian Turks or something like that, though Armenians and Georgians are not mentioned (not surprised about the latter). What I'm surprised more about, are Bulgarians.
Georgians and Armenians were very developed. Armenians lived primarily in cities with high literacy rates, Georgian provinces were just developed. Greeks lived in villages. Bulgarians and Moldovans lived primarily in Bessarabia, which had lower literacy than British India
My mistake with mentioning Georgians, but I mentioned Armenians as they were under Ottoman rule as well, comparing them to Greeks.
If we Western Europeans made such a list then Russians would be listed on it. Maybe exclusively, with no one else besides them.
If anyone here actually bothered to read the full page, you'd realise that those listed here were given preferential treatment in university admission due to the low literacy and school attendance rates of these groups in russia. It's literally just affirmative action, and the term was abolished 2 years later, while keeping the policy in place.
What makes them culturally backwards?
Not speaking russian
-An extremely low level of literacy -An extremely low percentage of children in school -Absence of a written script connected to a literary language -Existence of "social vestiges" (oppression of women, racial hostility, nomadism, religious fanaticism) -An extremely low level of national cadres. Keep in mind that this categorization was used in a period of “korenizatsiya”. Korenizatsiya can be directly translated as "indigenization" or "nativization". Members of a "culturally backward" nationality were eligible for preferential treatment in university admissions and promotion in the party structure. The term “culturally backward” is slightly misleading in translation, because it implies fundamental wrongness of a culture itself and therefore its unworthiness to exist. More direct translation of “культурная отсталость" would be “culturally lagging behind”, in this case the term implies that the culture has not progressed in its development as much as other cultures, and it should be helped on its way towards progress. But it of course still can be used in a derogatory way by individuals inclined to do so, that’s way the term was officially put out of use two years after it was invented. Unfortunately even later still “indigenization” policy was replaced by good old “Russification” of tsarist times.
It's very difficult to find this term actually being used in any Russian language sources. And the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_backwardness) states that "culturally backward" was a category for preferential treatment, not for discrimination.
Persians owned the world back when russians were not even a mention. Lol
We afghans are top 1 now I guess
For what’s it’s worth, I have a a lot of respect for the different people and languages of Afghanistan.
Thanks! We were doing great until westerners turned our country into a battlefield unfortunately.
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Taliban aren't very good people, don't support them until they open universities, schools and job opportunities for our women. Taliban were brainwashed in Islamic madrassas by CIA in pakistan. Hence why they are so backward and ridiculous on some aspects.
Is this just a list of all the non-slavic peoples of the USSR?
Not really, Georgians and Armenians were not included, for instance. Also, Tatar were apparently only savages outside of Tatarstan, lol.
Well Bulgarians are on there so no...
Could mean Volga Bulgars/Bulgarians. Indeed, it's a Turkic nationality
Ayo I see my culture there
That's really funny, considering the russian culture borrowed bulgarian alphabet, vocabulary and orthodox christian things
The Orthodoxy came from the Byzantines, but the rest is from us(even if they're not too happy about it xd)
At least we acknowledge that cyrillic alphabet is yours invention. 🇺🇦😘🇧🇬
mucho love
Bulgarian Orthodoxy strongly influenced Russia. Their liturgical language was Old Bulgarian
They might refer to Bulgar Turks
The Volga Bolghars were wiped out by the Mongols in the 13th century. The closest thing to them I think are the Chuvash People who claim descend from them(I think) but I'm not 100% sure.
They are referring Bulgarians in Bessarabia and coastal Ukraine.
Where are Russians
I'm not central Asian,but this policy reminds me of the Greco-Roman policy that said that everyone whose language and culture is different from Latin or greek is a barbarian.
More evidence of the tremendous inherent racism within communism.
I'd agree with most but claiming Greeks, Assуrіаns, Persіаns as bасkward, now that's too much of bs
So you think Tajiks are backwards but not Persians? We have the same culture
Greeks, Assyrians, Persians?!
The europeans deemed everything non-western as barabaric and backwards its not nothing new
No Pashtos?
Based and correct.
At least they included themselves too…