Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System, 1950-1951: Life History Interview Recodes

This data collection contains recodes of interviews with displaced persons who had left the USSR during and after World War II. Fielded in 1950-1951, the interviews were designed to explore the day-to-day life experience of Soviet citizens, the way that Soviet institutions functioned at the level of the ordinary citizen, and the psychological characteristics of the Soviet population. Major areas of investigation included education, work, government, communications, family, philosophy, and ideology. Background information on respondents includes sex, year respondent left the USSR, nationality, party membership, Komsomol membership, occupation, marital status, age, and highest educational level.