Culture And Society Under Stalin Flashcards
What did Stalin use propaganda for?
To gather support for his policies and get people behind them.
When did the Stalinist Cult begin?
1929
How did the Stalinist Cult grow?
3
Paintings, poems and sculptures were made glorifying Stalin.
History was changed to make Stalin have a bigger role than he did in the October Revolution.
Photos were doctored to remove his enemies and improve his appearance.
How was Stalin viewed by the Russian people?
He was viewed as the father of his people.
How did Stalin view theatre, arts, literature and sculptures?
Only valuable if they supported socialist ideology. Art for its own sake had no place in the Soviet state.
What did all writers have to be apart of from 1932 onwards?
Union of Soviet Writers and similar bodies were also set up for musicians, artists and film-makers. These bodies allowed the state to control what was produced.
What were writers supposed to write about?
3
What Soviet life would be like in the future and not how it was at the time.
Glorify the working man.
Communities working together.
In the years 1936 and 1937 how many films had to be withdrawn mid-production due to them not promoting socialism?
68 out of 150.
In the years 1936 and 1937 how many ballets had to be withdrawn mid-production due to them not promoting socialism?
10 out of 19.
In the years 1936 and 1937 how many plays had to be withdrawn mid-production due to them not promoting socialism?
60 and 10 theatres in both Moscow and Leningrad closed.
Who was Vsevolod Meyerhold?
He was a prominent director who appealed for artistic freedom and because of this he was arrested in 1938 and then shot in 1940.
What did films, plays and ballets have to follow?
Socialist Realism.
How did Stalin impose his judgement over musical works?
He said that the Soviet Union’s leading composer, Dimitri Shostakovich, works were bourgeois and formalistic.
How were ‘worker-heroes’ shown off?
Put on the front cover of Pravda and between 1937 and 1938 workers appeared on the cover more than Stalin.
Under Stalin what happened to the Orthodox Church?
4
Under more of a direct attack than it was under Lenin.
Religious schools were closed down.
Worship was restricted to registered congregations.
Many churches were physically destroyed.
Between 1929 and 1940 what was abolished?
The holy day of Sunday.
What was criminalised in 1936?
Publication of religious propaganda.
Which religions suffered the most?
Muslims and Jews.
When were pilgrimages to Mecca banned?
1935.
What happened to Muslim priests?
Many were imprisoned or killed.
By 1941 how many churches and mosques had been closed down?
40,000 Christian churches and 25,000 Muslim mosques.
What happened to women under Stalin’s rule?
The great retreat back from the advancement made under Lenin.
Why did the great retreat happen with women?
3
A fall in population.
Increase in disruption with family break-ups.
Fears of war.
Why did birth rates increase in the 1930s?
Abortion became illegal and contraception was banned.
How did Stalin try and prevent divorce?
3
A large fee was introduced.
Both parties had to attend proceedings.
Child support payments by fathers fixed 60% of income.
How were women encouraged to be mothers?
Propaganda.
Women with 6 or more children received tax exemptions.
What were other ways that were brought in to increase families?
Adultery was criminalised along with prostitution and homosexuality.
Did the Great Retreat with women work?
3
Number of women working in factories increased,
Divorce rates remained high (37% in Moscow in 1934).
Over 150,000 abortions for every 57,000 births.
What happened to education in the 1930s?
Parents had to contribute to the cost for secondary schooling.
More organised school structure.
Reverted to traditional methods of teaching and discipline.
By 1941 what percentage of 5-49 were literate?
94%
What did Komsomol do?
Set up in 1926 and catered for those aged 10 to 28.
Taught Communist values while discouraging smoking and drinking.
How did working men feel about Stalin’s policy of rapid industrialisation?
They hoped it would bring more employment which would improve living standards.
What happened to working men in the 1930s?
3
More opportunities for training.
Introduction of wage differentials in 1931 and the Stakhanovite movement motivated workers.
Living conditions were still tough.
Who would a new socialist man and woman be?
A well educated individual who was dedicated to the Party and worked for the community as well as being independent thinkers but also accepted what the State said.
