RURAL LIBRARIES AS A TOOL FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING TO CREATE A "NEW PERSON" LOCALLY: INTENTIONS AND REALITY (ON THE MATERIALS OF THE STAVROPOL REGION OF THE 1920S)

Abstract

In the article, the authors turn to the practical side of the cultural policy of the Soviet government, which at the early stages declared the goal of forming a “new man'. The ideological discourse constructed ideal images, while the “reforging” of the population in the provinces was carried out in difficult material conditions. Based on archival materials, the study shows the experience of building and developing a library network in the Stavropol region. After analyzing the experience of organizing library work, the authors come to the conclusion that Soviet social engineering faced a number of difficulties, such as hunger, lack of specialists and scarce funding.