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The article presents a preliminary study of the characteristics of the cultural growth of the Soviet Union peasantry before collectivization. Soviet Russia inherited from the past cultural backwardness, ignorance, and a downtrodden condition among the broad masses of the peasantry. An examination of the changes in the average educational level of various social strata shows that while educational levels showed a general rise, there was a tendency for different social strata to converge in terms of that indicator. Whereas in 1965, the difference in average educational level between unskilled and highly skilled workers was 2.2 years, in 1976-1977 it was 1.4. According to the 1976-1977 data, 75 to 80 percent of workers aged 30 and under had completed secondary, specialized secondary, or higher education. For workers in older age groups, among whom fluctuations in educational level are considerable, a more rigorous connection between education and nature of work was obvious. Thus, there were differences in educational level of workers of different social strata.