Cultural and recreational practices of soviet citizens in the 1920-ies (on the materials of Saratov)

Blonsky Leonid Vladimirovich

Тhe article studies the phenomenon of cultural and leisure practices of the Soviet city of the 1920s. Features of realization of the city leisure sphere are considered on the example of one of the major regional centers of the NEP era – Saratov. After the hardest years of civil war and military communism, in the conditions of the beginning of a new economic policy (NEP), the Soviet people more than ever felt the need for cultural recreation. In the 1920s, the cultural and leisure sector is particularly rapidly developing in the city. At the disposal of Soviet citizens were a variety of leisure facilities, ranging from theater to circus. Since the mid-1920s, the Soviet government has gradually approved the elements of censorship in the entertainment sector. To this end, an Art trust was created in Saratov in 1925.

Keywords:Soviet state, leisure, 1920s, NEP, cultural institutions, theater, cinema, circus, censorship.