[14] VKP(b) history. That famous history of the VKP(b), as the party was called in short, included the course on the revolutionary movement (the beginnings) in Russia until the Bolsheviks’ rise to power (obviously including Trotsky’s conviction for treason and a condemnation of the entire Trotskyist movement), a presentation of all the accomplishments and the course of the civil war in Russia, and the laying out of the principles of Marxism and communism in the Bolshevik understanding. Of course there were some interesting and typical incidents during those courses. First of all, the Bolsheviks thought that not everybody could start those studies, as one required suitable historical and philosophical preparation, and that even people with higher education could not cope with and understand all the material, which was why [15] they had to study under professional guidance. Very often, practically always, those lectures were given by a member of the Communist Party who lacked any philosophical education whatsoever and had only cursory knowledge of the history of social movements. During discussions and questions he himself asked, he could not understand where the participants (teachers) had learned the theory of socialism and Marxism. Some lecturers found out with disbelief and bewilderment that all that material was covered at faculties of philosophy in capitalist countries. “It can’t be! You’ve read The Capital?!” they asked. “Why, it’s forbidden literature in your country”. And then they added, embarrassed, “OK, but you know it from a wrong perspective”. That happened not only among teachers, but also in other [16] milieus of the intelligentsia, for instance, among attorneys, physicians, etc. In all those groups those communist lecturers and agitators were surprised that people born, raised, and educated in a capitalist country were familiar with all those trends and theories. In their naiveté they had thought that they were spreading enlightenment and knowledge, as it was [supposed to be] terra ignota790 to the bourgeois course participants.
Constant meetings. As were all workers, the teachers were constantly and excessively occupied by various kinds of meetings. Characteristically, all moves, which the authorities purportedly made in political or social life, had to be endorsed with or brought about by resolutions adopted by the working world. For instance, in connection with the war against Finland, meetings were held in all schools, factories, and enterprises, during which teachers,
