In Stalin's Russia, a "marginal” was someone who was not contributing to the building of socialism. Marginals could be slackers, unemployed persons, alcoholics, vandals, petty criminals, rowdies, or even persons without a roof over their heads. In other times and places, most of them would be regarded, probably with sympathy, as the unfortunates of society.
The Bolsheviks viewed marginals as not contributing to society, and, as such, deserving not of society's benefits but of punishment. The concept of "marginals” was broad and included those who came to work late, or not at all, changed jobs without permission, or worse did not hold down a job. They would not show up as volunteers to gather harvests, and they may have been heard to make uncomplimentary comments about the Soviet leadership. The disease of "marginalism,” moreover, could spread. In a remarkable lack of faith in the appeal of socialism, Bolshevik leaders believed the adage that "one rotten apple could spoil the bunch.” One marginal in a factory might lure honest
Painting by Vladimirov of a former person.
Communist "material” to drink, become lazy, or say bad things about Stalin. They would have to be dealt with eventually.
The language of Bolshevism also refers to "former people” (byv-shie liudi), who, through their offenses against the state, should no longer be regarded as human beings. Among the ranks of "former people” were supporters of the old regime, religious persons, merchants, land owners, members of banned political parties, richer peasants, professors, teachers, and persons who had traveled abroad or who had relatives abroad. The categories of former people were infinitely flexible. When the head of the Leningrad NKVD in 1935 proposed cleansing Leningrad of "former people,”2 his list included an eclectic mixture: those who "escaped punishment, not leaving the boundaries of Leningrad and living in their former apartments, those who have relations with relatives and acquaintances living abroad, those who organize discussions criticizing Soviet power, those not carrying out any useful activity but living in Leningrad only because they have a passport, and family members of executed spies, diversionists and terrorists, who, as indirect accomplices, escaped punishment.”
World History
