10 - Propaganda, Censorship And The Cult Of Stalin Flashcards
What was the Cult of Stalin and what did it involve?
The Cult of Stalin was introduced to secure the support of the public. The Cult of Stalin was essentially Stalin promoting his ‘greatness’ to the public in any opportunity he had.
Stalin had cities and streets named after him, newspapers constantly wrote inspiring stories about him and statues were built of him, presenting him as an idol.
Why did Stalin rewrite history?
Stalin rewrote history, including the Bolshevik revolution, to present himself as playing a larger role in the revolution, and removing the contributions of any ‘enemies’ (Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev and Zinoviev).
This was so he could gain more public support, so he would be trusted to be the supreme ruler of Russia.
Stalin also faked a close relationship with Lenin, who was still looked up to by many, by releasing fake paintings and pictures portraying them as having a close relationship, and as Stalin being trusted by Lenin.
Who were RAPP and AUW?
- RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) wanted to include politics in fiction
- AUW (All Russian Union of Writers) wanted to exclude politics from fiction
Most writers were members of AUW, as they would have more freedom to write
What happened between RAPP and AUW?
- RAPP launched a campaign against AUW, who were accused of releasing anti-soviet content - AUW dissolved
- AUSW then formed (All Russian Union of Soviet Writers). Only half of AUW were allowed in AUSW. Members who could not join could not publish books.
- Stalin dissolved both RAPP and AUSW. These members have to join the Union of Soviet Writers, which formed in 1932.
This is another example of Stalin controlling media and what can be released to the public
What were the main components of Socialist Realism art?
- Upbeat
- A political message was projected
- Simple, easy to understand, realistic
How did Stalin control religion?
- Had to deal with Muslims, the Jewish and the Russian Orthodox, as they posed a threat to the Cult of Stalin as they believed in a different god and were therefore not following ‘the way of Stalin’
- Mosques and Muslim schools were closed, pilgrimages were banned to Mecca
- Jewish schools, libraries and synagogues were closed down, Hebrew was banned from being learnt
- No churches were allowed to be built in new towns and cities, many Orthodox priests were imprisoned
- Anti-religious propaganda was promoted instead
How did Stalin control the media?
Stalin ensured that the Soviet Union had little knowledge of the outside world by censoring the media. Radios and newspapers were both censored.
How did Stalin control the education system?
Stalin returned to traditional methods regarding the education system:
- Exams were brought back
- Strict discipline
- Learnt Stalin’s version of history at school, and how Stalin is the supreme leader
- The teaching of communist ideology became compulsory in schools
What was the new constitution of 1936 brought in for?
- Stalin introduced a new constitution to convince Soviet citizens and the outside world that the USSR was a free society
- There was a Supreme Soviet, consisting of the Soviet of the Union (deputies elected per 300,000 voters) and the Soviet of Nationalities (deputies representing non-Russians)
- The Supreme Soviet then decided the council of ministers. The Supreme Soviet was the equivalent of Parliament
What did the new Constitution of 1936 include?
- Elections to the soviets every 4 years
- Universal suffrage for everybody over the age of 18 (voting rights)
- Civil liberties guaranteed (freedom of speech, press, assembly etc.)
Was the Constitution of 1936 entirely truthful?
- Freedoms could only be exercised with the approval of the Communist party.
- Real power lay with the Communist Party, there were no elections for bodies in the Communist Party, members were chosen.
- The two most important parts of the party, the Politburo and Central Committee, did not always meet regularly, and Stalin made most decisions with his close advisors
