THE CRISIS OF THE INSTITUTE OF MARRIAGE IN THE RSFSR URBAN POPULATION DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Abstract

The Second World War attracts the closest attention of researchers. The history of the war seems to have been studied in particular detail. Nevertheless, many issues related to the socio-demographic aspects of the war remain poorly researched. Among them, the problems of urban population dynamics stand out. It was not until late 1980s — early 1990s that Russian historiography has shifted towards the study of such aspects of the urbanization of the war years as the reproduction of Russia’s urban population. However, even today, such important subjects as nuptiality patterns remain outside the attention of researchers. The article interprets nuptiality as the process of forming a marriage structure based on the conclusion and dissolution of marriages. This, first of all, determines the scientific novelty of the article. On the basis of new sources, many of which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, it considers such problems as the dynamics of the number of registered marriages in 1939–1945, as well as the transformation of structural indicators of marriage. The perturbation effect of military mobilizations on the marriage dynamics is shown. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of the crisis of marriage during the war years, the impact of gender asymmetry on the parameters of marriage. The problem of divorce during the war years is not ignored as well. The author identifies fundamental differences in the marriage rate of the urban and rural population, reveals the main trends in the demographic policy of the Stalinist state in the field of marriage.