Известия Уральского федерального университета. Серия 2: Гуманитарные науки (Mar 2019)
The Turn of the 1990s in the Lives of Graduates of the Faculty of History, Kuban University: Issues of Professional Self-determination
Abstract
The social history of Russia in the last decade of the 20th century is closely related to the last stage in the development of Soviet society, the time of “perestroika”. These periods have not been sufficiently studied in national historiography, especially such aspects as the daily life of people in a transition society, the social mobility of the population, and the life strategies of young people. The article discusses the influence of the new political and socio-economic realities of the turn of the 1990s on the professional self-determination of young people entering independent life at the time. The author suggests considering this issue with reference to boys and girls who chose to major in history, making every effort to enter the prestigious Faculty of History at Kuban State University at the end of the Soviet era. However, they gained a diploma of higher education in different social conditions, and they had to reconsider or radically change their professional plans. The research refers to the personal records of full-time graduates of the Department of History, Kuban State University for 1992 and 1993 and materials of 20 interviews with graduates held in 2018. The author compiles a collective “portrait” of a graduate of the full-time department of KubSU in 1992 and 1993 (applicant of 1987 and 1988). The author reveals the motivation underlying the choice they made in favour of the Faculty of History. It is established that for many people, the Faculty was attractive in terms of career growth in party organs and state administration (especially for Komsomol activists). Young people gradually realised the consequences of “restructuring” for their personal professional plans. In the unstable economic conditions of the transition to market economy, many graduates started their careers exercising the profession they had chosen (at schools, museums).
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