[93] "Klubnoe delo v Tveri," Proletkul't (Tver), no. 3/4 (1919), pp. 35–36.
[94] See, for example, P. Knyshov, "O soderzhanii klubnoi raboty," Gorn , no. 4 (1919), pp. 55–57.
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rary plays.[95] In the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Proletkult clubs offered basic educational courses and little else. The organizers complained that they could not sustain creative workshops because there were not enough instructors and the participants were poorly prepared.[96]
The most serious criticism of all, however, was that local club work was frivolous, thereby perpetuating petty-bourgeois attitudes. In the opinion of central organizers Russian workers' clubs had always been distinguished by their serious nature, as opposed to Western European clubs, which were little more than bars.[97] This sober view made club workers even more intolerant of groups that served primarily as friendly spots to eat, drink, talk, and, worst of all, dance. Stefan Krivtsov, who wrote frequently on club life in Proletarian Culture , continually railed against circles that served as teahouses, dance halls, "or worse." "In place of a club in Iaroslavl they ended up with a cookhouse," lamented Krivtsov. "The same goes for the club in Petrovsk. They named it after comrade Lenin and it should have the clearest and loftiest goals, such as the unification of workers and the awakening of their interest in and love for art. Instead, they have some sort of free love unions."[98]
These censorious attitudes only grew more pronounced as the Proletkult faced increasing competition from its cultural rivals. In late 1920 Narkompros transformed its Adult Education Division into the Chief Committee for Political Education, or Glavpolitprosvet, which tried to take control of all forms of club activity.[99] As the Proletkult's influence began to
[95] Local questionnaire, TsGALI f. 1230, op. 1, d. 117, l. 58.
[96] "Material k istorii Proletkul'ta," TsGALI f. 1230, op. 1, d. 1245, ll. 6–7; local questionnaire, d. 117, l. 50 ob.
[97] O. Zol', "Kluby—iacheiki proletarskoi klassovoi samodeiatel'nosti," Griadushchee , no. 5 (1918), p. 9; and Protokoly pervoi konferentsii , p. 91.