Cultural Revolution Flashcards
Arts
- Socialist Realism lay with Lenin’s belief that Art and Literature must educate the workers in the spirit of Communism. Stalin liked realism as the art was easily understood by the masses and told a story. Socialist Realism meant seeing life as it ought to be rather than it was.
- Cinema was used raise cultural level of the masses. Films had to have simple plots which were relatable to the millions. To do this ‘You must either be from the masses yourself or have studied them thoroughly’. ‘Every film must be useful, intelligible and familiar to the millions. Films not too effective as people preferred Hollywood comedies despite Stalin in First Five Year Plan making films have to go through State committee for cinematography and film of Bolshevik Revolution called October
- Art - From beginning of 1930s Soviet paintings filled with tractors, threshing machines and combine harvesters- Hardly any art on family and based off pictures you would think if unregulated all soviet people cared at factories, collective farms, party meetings and demonstrations.
- Literature By mid 1932 Stalin decided RAPP had served it’s purpose and was abolished for being too narrow and replaced by the Union of Soviet Writers having a non party member Maxim Gorky as first head which included non party members and non-proletarian. All artistic figures lived in fear and degree of state control was strong.
- Socialist Realist novels - Stalin believed writers were the ‘engineers of human souls’, and Socialist Realism was ‘the guiding principle’. ‘Literature should not be a single step away from the practical affairs of socialist construction.’ By late 1929 writers organised into brigades who would go and work in construction sites, kolkhozes and factories. Simple, direct language and cheap mass editions so it was accessible to a newly literature readership.
Young People
The Young Communists became a large influence on education institutions, threatening teachers and non-party academics who they did not believe were sufficiently “proletarian”
The Komsomol(Young Communist League) was established in 1918 and had roughly two million members by 1927. They would play an important role in furthering the collectivisation and industrialisation process as well as helping the state maintain control in certain areas. They were encouraged to report un-Communist activities. The role of young people in the state largely changed.
c) Many people were rejected on the grounds that they did not have “working-class” origins.
Therefore one could argue a lot of young people’s lives didn’t change as they were never
allowed to take part.
d) Education was changed to favour practical courses according to the Communist party doctrine
under Vasily Shulgin’s policy of “withering away of the school”. He believed education should be directly linked to Factories or how to teaching peasants anti religious literature but not reading books or solving maths problems in order to make a Child socially useful. However, many of the arts
and science subjects were reinstated and the changes to education did not last long.
As Stalin outraged with state of schools in 1931 bringing back teaching of maths, physics and Chemistry as he wanted skilled workers. Exams and homework after going came back.
e) Changes to University admission and the education criteria were revoked in 1931, it returned
to the academic model used before the revolution.
However at least old non party teachers were driven out
Women
Pre-Soviet times were certainly patriarchal and women were meant to look after the family if possible.
However, the soviets destroyed traditional familial roles in the cultural revolution. Marriages became less formal and divorces and abortions were much easier to obtain.
By the mid-1930s there was a change and traditional values were again fashionable. This was called the ‘Great Retreat’:
⁃ Abortion was outlawed except where there was a threat to the woman’s life and health or if they had a hereditary diseases.
Divorce was made harder: both parties had to attend divorce proceedings and the fee for registering a divorce was raised to 50 roubles for the first, 150 for the second, and 300 for any subsequent divorce.
Mothers with six children received a substantial cash payment of 2000 roubles a year for five years, with additional payments for each child up to the eleventh.
Child support wages were fixed at 25% of wages or salary for on child, a third for two and 50-60% for three or more.
⁃ Laws were passed against prostitution and homosexuality.
⁃ Having illegitimate children was stigmatised.
⁃ Children were urged to love and respect their parents “even if they are old-
fashioned and do not like the Komsomol”.
⁃ Newspapers reported prosecutions of doctors for performing abortions and
some women were imprisoned for having them.
As a result of this, the birth rate rose from under 25 per 1000 in 1935 to 31 per 1000 in 1940.
• Divorce rates in the city of Leningrad declined, but marriage rate did too. The ratio of marriage to divorce had therefore not changed much.
• Most people liked the state’s change of attitude on families and family values.
• The problem of juvenile crime also fell with women. Parents, who were often just women, could be fined for the children’s crimes and their children could be forced into an orphanage.
Historians
Richard Stites: notes the negation of all existing culture because it is better to have no culture rather than bourgeois culture.
Sheila Fitzpatrick: wives of Soviet elite mimicked Western middle class women running charities and forgoing paid work. - You can crush that view
Alec Nove: important to stress thousands (mostly young people) took part in “great construction of socialism”, a “real sense of comradeship”. Though others such as prisoners, deportees and peasants were not so enthusiastic.
“Great Retreat”
A return to more traditional values: Respect your parents, Have children, anti divorce and anti abortion. For Arts talk about how Cinema is proof against this
Support and Fees
Divorce was made harder: both parties had to attend divorce proceedings and the fee for registering a divorce was raised to 50 roubles for the first, 150 for the second, and 300 for any subsequent divorce.
Mothers with six children received a substantial cash payment of 2000 roubles a year for five years, with additional payments for each child up to the eleventh.
Child support wages were fixed at 25% of wages or salary for on child, a third for two and 50-60% for three or more.
Argument Lisher
Yes, the orthodox Nicholas Timasheff argument is that there was “a great retreat” (society & culture went back to their traditional ways). This is quite easy to argue, even though other historians disagree with this.
Cinema
Cinema was used raise cultural level of the masses. Films had to have simple plots which were relatable to the millions. To do this ‘You must either be from the masses yourself or have studied them thoroughly’. ‘Every film must be useful, intelligible and familiar to the millions. Films not too effective as people preferred Hollywood comedies despite Stalin in First Five Year Plan making films have to go through State committee for cinematography and film of Bolshevik Revolution called October
Films about collectivisation
Young Communist League
The Young Communists became a large influence on education institutions, threatening teachers and non-party academics who they did not believe were sufficiently “proletarian”
Helped ensure social control.
The Komsomol(Young Communist League) was established in 1918 and had roughly two million members by 1927. They would play an important role in furthering the collectivisation and industrialisation process as well as helping the state maintain control in certain areas. They were encouraged to report un-Communist activities. The role of young people in the state largely changed.
Education
Education was changed to favour practical courses according to the Communist party doctrine
under Vasily Shulgin’s policy of “withering away of the school”. He believed education should be directly linked to Factories or how to teaching peasants anti religious literature but not reading books or solving maths problems in order to make a Child socially useful. However, many of the arts
and science subjects were reinstated and the changes to education did not last long.
As Stalin outraged with state of schools in 1931 bringing back teaching of maths, physics and Chemistry as he wanted skilled workers. Exams and homework after going came back.
e) Changes to University admission and the education criteria were revoked in 1931, it returned
to the academic model used before the revolution.
However at least old non party teachers were driven out
Art
• Art - From beginning of 1930s Soviet paintings filled with tractors, threshing machines and combine harvesters- Hardly any art on family and based off pictures you would think if unregulated all soviet people cared at factories, collective farms, party meetings and demonstrations.
Respect
⁃ Children were urged to love and respect their parents “even if they are old-
fashioned and do not like the Komsomol”.
New points
CR
Abortion illegal by 1936
Source point - Soviet education was equal for boys and girls
1920s Elute
Stalin’s image domaintated and ‘the Red corner’ had a Stalin image instead of orthodox
Marriage became more celebrated later on
RAPP - Soveit Union writers began class war against the ‘avant garde’
Literature
Literature
RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) was the radical left wing organisation which became literature dominant force in cultural revolution. Used to control Soviet writers
By mid 1932 Stalin decided RAPP had served it’s purpose and was abolished for being too narrow and replaced by the Union of Soviet Writers having a non party member Maxim Gorky as first head which included non party members and non-proletarian. All artistic figures lived in fear and degree of state control was just as strong.
Leningrad
Divorce rates in the city of Leningrad declined, but marriage rate did too. The ratio of marriage to divorce had therefore not changed much.
