Culture And Society: 1917-1953 Flashcards
Who believed in the idea of a “New Soviet Man”?
Lenin
Trotsky
Continued by Stalin
What does Proletkult mean?
Proletarian culture
What should writers and artists work express?
The values of revolutionary Russia
What was set up by 1922 to create proletariat culture?
Writers circles
Art studies
Amateur dramatic groups
Musical appreciation societies
Who brought Proletkult under control and what was the organisation called?
Lunarcharsky’s Commerssariat of Enlightenment
When was the Proletkult disbanded and why?
1933 when Lenin ordered strict censorship on the press and academic publications due to criticism of War Communism and NEP
What were the 4 key features of the Decree of Separation of Church and State?
1) Clergy no longer to be paid salaries or pensions by the state
2) Church was no longer to have a central organisation with authority over local congregations
3) Religious teaching was forbidden in schools
4) Church properties no longer owned by clergy but by local Soviets from whom churches would have to be rented for public worship
What happened to the leaders of the Churches who spoke out?
Subjected to show trials then imprisoned
What was the Cheka doing to Churches?
Looting and desecrating churches and monasteries
Was the Orthodox Church eradicated fully?
No. Driven underground. Peasants continued to pray and worship but couldn’t risk doing it publicly.
What were 4 ways the Bolsheviks undermined the role of marriage?
1) Legal divorce if either partner requested it
2) Recognition of illegitimate children
3) Legalisation of abortion
4) State responsible for raising of children
Following Lenin’s death what image did Stalin assume?
Modest image - hard-working man of moderation. Wanted to appear as Lenin’s servant and servant of the party
When was Tsaritsyn renamed and what was it renamed to?
Stalingrad in 1925
How many greetings did Stalin receive for his 50th birthday?
350 (some from organisations that didn’t exist)
How was Stalin’s image used during the years of disruption from the 1st Five Year Plan and purges?
To reassure people that they had a strong leader to help them through the disruption.
What was the ‘History of the All-Union Communist Party’?
Published 1938 - reinterpreted history in Stalin’s favour.
What is the most likely explanation for the development of the cult in the 1930’s?
Economic and political circumstances of Soviet Russia in the mid-1930’s. (Disruption of 1st 5 Year Plan and purges, former heroes revealed as traitors, wreckers everywhere)
How was the cult of personality reflected in culture?
Paintings stressed Stalin’s personality, humanity and active participation in ordinary people’s lives.
Relationship with children emphasised.
Operas and films glorified his role in the revolution as Chief hero of the civil war.
Statues of him as an all-powerful leader.
How did paintings show Stalin at the end of the 1930’s?
More detached and superior.
What was the impact of WW2 on the personality cult?
Success enhanced Stalin’s position and fed the cult which reached its height at the end of the 1940’s.
Paintings showed him in a god-like solitude or with Lenin - no longer a disciple, now an equal or master.
How many copies of ‘The History of the All Union Communist Party’ sold in the Soviet Union by 1948?
34 million
How was history reinterpreted in Stalin’s favour in ‘The History of the All Union Communist Party’?
Stalin assumed major role in Oct Rev + Civil War.
Trotsky + Old Bolsheviks portrayed as ‘enemies of the people’ or given minor roles.
Photo’s doctored to remove Stalin’s old enemies.
What did peasants and workers create in their homes?
‘Red’ corner of the great leaders (like saints corners in tsarist times)
In the Soviet Union what did culture have to be?
Proletarian. Not a detached activity - expression of the political and economic system operating in society.
