The status, content and forms of the RSFSR cultural and educational institutions activities in 1945-1953 (a case of Astrakhan region)

Based on local periodicals and archives, the research considers the activities of cultural and educational institutions in the post-war period by a case study of Astrakhan region. The author examines the significance of mass political, cultural and educational activities for public authorities in the period under review. To this end, the paper analyzes the relevant regulatory instruments adopted by the USSR in general and Astrakhan region in particular. The study summarizes the new data on the activities of cultural and educational institutions in Astrakhan region. It describes the rural leisure time arrangements and an ability to combine cultural life with political propaganda among the peasants and the rural intellectuals. The author concluded that club and reading room were the major cultural and educational institutions in a village; they were affected by both objective (financing or the lack of it) and subjective factors (active rural intellectuals).