Media and Propaganda Flashcards
how did the state control media in Russia
through nationalisation, restriction of information and censorship.
what was Lenin’s attitude towards newspaper?
he quickly stamped out any signs of freedom in the press as he viewed newspapers as the mouthpiece of the bourgeoise
what decree did Lenin pass in November 1917 and what did it do
he banned all non-socialist newspapers so by 1920s all non-Bolshevik papers were eliminated.
printing of press was nationalised
all editors and journalists were employed by the government (members of the union of soviet journalist) and were expected to be party members
every article had to be approved by Glavlit (censorship office)
what were the two daily newspapers in soviet Russia
Pravda (truth) and Izvestiya (News) both were used as a vehicle for propaganda to highlight achievements of socialism and government.
they were cheap to buy and copies were available along pavements and workplaces,
what was contained is newspapers
achievements of socialism, posting production figures that met targets or exceeded targets this was prevalent in Stalin era.
also included topics such as expeditions to artic or search of gold and oil in southern Russia.
what topics where prohibited in newspapers
plane crashes, natural disasters were delayed e.g. fire in Moscow was explained after 1 month. nuclear waste tank exploded killing 200 people and exposing 270,000 people and government press agencies simply ignored
what were local newspapers allowed to do?
published more critical views on authorities but only subject to criticizing small bureaucrats and poor housing become hot topic. party leader criticising wasn’t allowed.
Role of Magazines in USSR
catered to loads of intretses like farmers, solider teachers or aimed at sports fans.
crime, religion were off topic
Red sport introduced in 1924 and successor Sovetskii sport 1946 was hugely popular carrying sports news and political news praising government
development and use of radio
1921 voice radio developed featuring news with little music. as they were expensive loud speakers were put in public places. radio censored and controlled by commissariat for posts and telegraph
invasion of 1941 saw use of radio as German forces less than 50 miles from Moscow Stalin gave speech to reassure soviet people which was effective
until 1964 one station
Brezhnev increased this to 3 with one playing foreign music
restricted access by selling cheap radios with limited reception and jammed foreign broadcasts, threated arrest to those who listen to BBC but threats rarely succeeded but still limited publics access to information
televison
1958 3 million TV’s by 1980 most rural population had access.
provided news , documentaries, achievements of socialism and ballet and classical arts. children’s programmes presented soviet union as joyous
by 1985 their were 2 channels with light entertainment e.g folk dancing
results of media
censorship used but not always successful
soviet people read between the lines e.g. heart problems of a politburo member meant they fell out of favour
government continued to censor and promote propaganda throughout the whole period but as technology become more advanced it became harder e.g. video cameras mass produced made sharing information amongst public easier.
