Job by distribution (russian: работа по распределению, ''rabota po raspredeleniyu'') was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
practice of obligatory
job placement
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency.
Public employment agencies
One ...
for
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
graduates. After graduation, a person would be "distributed" by a committee to a particular position anywhere within the Soviet Union, and had an
obligation
An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether legal or moral. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. Obligation exists when the ...
to work there, typically for three years.
During that time, an
employee had the special status of a "young specialist": he or she could not be
fired, and could get special benefits like housing. After the placement term expiration, the employee could continue to work there or leave for another job.
Job by distribution is still practiced in
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
.
References
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Labor in the Soviet Union