Likbez

Likbez ( _ru. ликбе́з, IPA-ru|lʲɪˈgbʲɛs; from a Russian abbreviation for "likvidatsiya bezgramotnosti", ликвида́ция безгра́мотности, IPA| [lʲɪkvʲɪˈdatsɨjə bʲɪˈzgramətnəsʲtʲɪ] ) was a campaign of eradication of illiteracy in Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s. The term was also used for various schools and courses established during the campaign.

The was started on December 26, 1919, when Vladimir Lenin signed the Decree of the Soviet government "On eradication of illiteracy among the population of RSFSR" ("О ликвидации безграмотности среди населения РСФСР"). According to this decree, all people from 8 to 50 years old were required to become literate in their native language.

40,000 liquidation points (ликпункты) were arranged to serve as centers for education, and achieving literacy. [Nar, Nina (1957) "The Campaign Against Illiteracy and Semiliteracy in the Ukraine, Transcaucasus, and Northern Caucasus, 1922-1941," in Kline, George Louis, "Soviet Education," New York: Columbia University Press. p. 140]

The campaign was generally successful. In 1917, only 40% of all adults in Russia were literate. In 1926, the percentage of literate people rose to 60.9%. According to the 1939 Soviet Census, literate people were 89.7% (RSFSR, ages 9 - 49). Since the 1950s, the Soviet Union had become a country of nearly 100% literacy.

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