3.3 Censorship and Propaganda Flashcards
How did the Soviet Union shape people’s views about their country?
By keeping a firm grasp on the information available to the people
What is a totalitarian dictatorship?
A system in which a dictator has total control over the lives of citizens of the country
What did Stalin create in an attempt to bring the Soviet Union under his total control?
Official culture’ was created as a weapon to control people and make them obediant to the will of Stalin
What was the 1932 decree ‘On the Reconstruction of Literary and Art Organisation’?
The Moscow and Leningrad Union of Artists was established to ensure all art was in line with Stalin’s rules to control artists in the socialist realism movement
How did Stalin describe those who produced socialist realism?
He described them as ‘engineers of souls’ who would be enthusiastic about building a communist Soviet Union and would believe in its values
What was the cultural revolution?
It was Stalin’s attempt to drive the Soviet Union forward to get rid of the old ways of doing things by tightening his grip on the next generation.
What were the main aspects of the cultural revolution?
Students were encouraged to denounce teachers if they appeared to lack enthusiasm for communism. School uniforms and exams came to an end. Workers were given more encouragement to go to school
Was the cultural revolution successful?
Yes, old fashioned teachers and middle class children had been driven out, and the new set of workers owed everything to the communist party, which is what Stalin had aimed for.
What new addidtions did Stalin make to the new curriculum?
New textbooks were produced, purging out people who Stalin wanted written out of history. History was rewritten to make Stalin seem like Lenin’s right-hand man. Core curriculum of maths, science, MFL, History and Geography was introduced
What were the Governments attack on religion?
Communists were atheists, and since Orthodox chrches had helped thw whites in the civil war, Stalin attempted to wipe out religion in the Soviet Union. Mosques and Islamic schools were also shut
What other cultures were affected by Stalin’s opposition to religion?
Judaism and Buddhism
What was media censorship?
Everything that was read, viewed or heard had to be positive about Stalin and the communist party
How did Stalin enforce media censorship?
Writings of people who had been purged were made to disappear, any links to Trotsky’s work were banned. Stalin had control over the publication of economic data
What were the consequences of media censorship?
People believed evrything they read. people did not have the confidence to question the ‘official truth’. It became difficult to verify ay infromation in the Soviet Union
What was the new Soviet Constitution of 1936?
A document was released after a wave of mass arrests started. The documents promised key rights but only a few of these were followed through with. In reality, the 1936 Constitution was an attempt by Stalin to make Britain and France know he would be a good ally against Hitler when war started.
