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VII Soviet Education and Culiure Since Leninist doctrine in the Soviet Union is proc!. as the one infallible key to truth, the prineiple function . Soviet school system is to bring the younger generation u staunch believers in the Marxist religion. And since the Ma doctrine of class war has ied logicaliy to the extension of mil thinking, military strategy and wartime ethical values t areas of life, the Soviet educational system can likewise be pared to the special training programs set up within mc armies to suyply whatever cadres of trained personnel the 1 of the armies require According to Marxist-Leninist doctrine, there is no coni between these two aims and the aim of giving every persot opportunity to develop his own abilities. Since Marxist-Leni doctrine teaches that the individual finds real self-fu!filln only in identifying himself with his Soviet society, the us. Soviet schools as instruments for the propagation of the Mar faith and the gearing of Soviet education to the needs of state are considered actually to make it easier for the indivic. Soviet citizen to achieve self-realization.. Within this framework, reflecting as it does a system values considerably different from those which are reflected American-education, it can be said that the Soviet educatio system offers significant opportunities for a Iarge number young men and women to get training in proportion to th ability. It is understandable that the opportunity is greater present in the cities than in the country. Whereas rural childre. form 69 per cent of the total Soviet school enrollment and or. number city children in the first four grades by three to or. the proportion is almost reversed in the last three grades (eight. ninth, and tenth), where city children form 59 per cent of t total enrollment.* Soviet children start to school at the age cf seven. Thr types of basic schools exist side by side: the "primary schoo. - These fgures and much of the other statistical data in this chapte system by Nicholas DeWitt.Soviet Proftssional Manpower (Washingtor National Science Foundation, 1955). 58