1.3 State Control of mass media and propaganda

Question 1

when was the ban on all non-socialist newspapers?

Answer 1

November 1917

Question 2

what year was the development of voice radio?

Answer 2

1921

Question 3

what year did televisions begin being mass produced in the USSR?

Answer 3

1958

Question 4

how was state control imposed on newspapers in the 1920s? (5)

Answer 4

• the decree of 1917 banned all non-socialist newspapers
• by the early 1920s, all non-bolshevik papers were eliminated
• the printing press was nationalised and only those working ‘in the interest of the workers and the Socialist order’ had access
• all editors and journalist were employees of the government, members of the Soviet Union and expected to be Party members
• every article needed approval from Glavlit (the censorship office), before publication

Question 5

What were the two daily newspapers, and what were their goals/purpose? (5)

Answer 5

• Pravda (Truth) and Izvestiya (News)
• Pravda was the newspaper of the communist party
• Izvestiya was the paper of the government
• both were used as vehicles of propaganda, agitation and organisation
• to ensure high readership, these papers were very cheap and easily available

Question 6

what topics were written in these newspapers? (2)

Answer 6

• they had endless details about the achievements of socialism
• fixation on meeting or exceeding targets of the latest economic plan, especially during Stalin’s puch to industrialize in the 1930s

Question 7

what were topics that were prohibited from newspapers? (3)

Answer 7

• plane crashes and natural disasters
• local newspapers were more likely to publish views critical of authorities, although there were limits
• criticising party leaders was not allowed

Question 8

magazines (3)

Answer 8

• many of them were aimed at specific groups of workers such as farmer, soldiers or teachers
• others were aimed at young children or sports fans
• interests such as sex, pornography, crime and religion were off-limits

Question 9

how was it ensured that radio was available for a wide range of audience? (2)

Answer 9

• because radio receivers were expensive, the Bolsheviks installed loudspeakers in public places, factories and clubs
• group listenings also resulted in a collective response that ensured everyone got the message

Question 10

Why was radio so important for the government to convey its message? (2)

Answer 10

• it enabled them to get their message across to the 65 % who were illiterate
• the speed with which they could convey the message was very important during the German invasion in 1941

Question 11

How did the Government try to restrict access to foreign stations? (2)

Answer 11

• they mass-produced cheap radios with limited reception range
• they also jammed foreign broadcasts and threatened to arrest those that listened to stations such as Voice America or the BBC

Question 12

the rise of Television (3)

Answer 12

• became a key method of spreading soviet message by 1950s
• mass production of televisions in the 1960s meant that most of the population could afford them
• by 1980s, most of the rural population had access to a television

Question 13

what was shown on television? (3)

Answer 13

• the gov. stations provided a mix of news, documentaries on the achievements of socialism, ballet and the classical arts
• childrens programmes and feature films
• life under socialism was presented as happy, while in reality it was filled with crime, homelessness and violence

Question 14

In what ways did censorship and restriction of material fail? (3)

Answer 14

• the soviet public got used to reading between the lines
• news of the heart problems of a member of the politburo was interpreted as a fall from favour
• citicens were also instructed to remove pages from their collections of the Soviet encyclopedia, because there were details of Beria, the head of secret police. (first sign to public that beria had been arrested)