N. S. Khrushchev and the 1944 Soviet Family Law: Politics, Reproduction, and Language

Abstract

Faced with the demographic catastrophe of World War II, the Soviet Union tried to replace the dead by promulgating the pronatalist Family Law of 1944. The results would be many and varied, both planned and unintended. This article, based on recently declassified Soviet archives, analyzes highlevel discussions that preceded issuance of the new law and reveals N. S. Khrushchev, the future Soviet leader, as the measure's author. However, his clear statement of pronatalist goals was covered up by euphemisms regarding protection of mothers and children in all public versions. By comparing the internal and public texts, we can discover much about the interrelationship of reproduction, language, and politics in the postwar USSR.