Propaganda, censorship and cult of personality Flashcards
How was Stalin positioned in propaganda posters?
From 1933 onwards: tended to be the only person in the top half, standing above everyone else
What colours were used in Stalinist propaganda posters, and why?
Red - the colour of Communism
White - the colour of purity (used when with children)
Why was Lenin not depicted with children in posters, but Stalin was?
Lenin didn’t like children. Stalin wanted to be presented as the father of the nation
How did the use of other individuals in propaganda posters change over time?
Early 1930s: Stalin presented alongside Lenin (and Marx) to demonstrate continuity.
From 1933 onwards: Stalin takes centre stage, Lenin drifts away.
Stalin also continued to be presented with ordinary workers, peasants and women, to appear as a benefactor.
How did the purpose of propaganda posters change over time?
Initially based on promoting policy (collectivisation, Five-Year Plans)
Eventually used to promote the cult of personality (Stalin as a demi-god)
How was Stalin presented in propaganda posters as superior and apart?
His image was in propaganda posters, but not as a person - rather as a statue, or as a poster, to be worshipped
Give two other ways in which Stalin was presented as the successor to Lenin in the 1920s
- Presented the oration at Lenin’s funeral
- “Stalin is the Lenin of today” became a commonly used phrase
- Tsaritsyn (significant Civil War battleground) renamed Stalingrad, 1925
Identify and describe the three main ways how Stalin was presented through the cult of personality
1) Stalin as benefactor - helping workers, soldiers, women and young people succeed
2) Stalin as defender of the people - as “uncle” Joe or as father of the nation, helping against misfortunes
3) Stalin as charismatic leader - superhuman abilities and wisdom, appearing as an icon or demi-god
What were the names of the two main newspapers in Stalin’s rule?
Pravda, Izvestiya
What were Stalin’s ‘Kremlin meetings with the people’?
Reports in Soviet media of Stalin meeting Stakhanovites, the widows of Red Army heroes etc. - heavily stage-managed rituals
Did posters or newspapers reach a wider audience and why?
Posters - Pravda was predominantly aimed at Party members, not normally accessed by many ordinary Russians
Give two examples of events that were celebrated annually in the Soviet Union
May Day - 1 May - international day of socialism
Stalin’s birthday in December
How would Stalin’s birthday be celebrated?
Day-long parades with marching troops, rolling tanks, dancing children and applauding workers, with Stalin overlooking Lenin’s tomb
What happened to schools in 1935?
Centralised under the People’s Commissariat for Education rather than run locally
Give three examples of how schools helped control young Russians
All children had to attend school between the ages of 5 and 15
All schools followed the same curriculum and used the same state-approved textbooks
All children sat the same exams, run by the Commissariat for Education
All schools had homework and uniforms, including girls tying their hair in pigtails
What was the purpose of a Stalinist education, for most young people?
To prepare young people to get a job in the industrial economy
What phrase began to appear in 1936 over the doorways of nurseries and schools, or chanted by children?
“Thank You Dear Comrade Stalin for a Happy Childhood!”
How could teachers undermine the cult of personality?
Deliberately teaching it ineptly so their students lacked the most basic facts
How did children undermine the cult of personality?
Drew swastikas on their exercise books, set up anti-Soviet secret societies, defaced portraits of Stalin
What was Komsomol and who could join it?
The youth organisation of the Party, controlled by the Central Committee from 1926
For those aged between 14 and 28
Give three examples of things members of Komsomol would do
Swear oaths of allegiance to Stalin and the Party
Take part in organised marching, singing, gymnastics and sport
Inform on other members who criticised their leaders
Helped build Magnitogorsk
Take part in May Day parades and Stalin’s birthday celebrations
Disrupt plays if they were formalist
How did membership of Komsomol change between 1927 and 1940?
Increased from 2 million to 10 million
What was formalism and how was it different to socialist realism?
Formalism = anything too modern, avant-garde, Western, complicated or narrow
Socialist Realism = anything which educated workers in the spirit of Communism and was easy for them to understand
What types of art were banned in Stalin’s Russia?
Geometric, avant-garde art (“agitprop art”)
What organisation did Russian authors have to join in 1932? Did all of them join?
Union of Soviet Writers
No - some (like Boris Pasternak) gave up serious writing instead
Who previewed films before they were released to the public?
Stalin himself
What types of music were banned in the 1930s?
Jazz, anything with complicated techniques
What types of music were promoted in 1930s Russia?
Folk songs
Any music that was joyous, positive, patriotic (in a major key)
What was the Short Course?
A new History of the Communist Party published in 1938, that promoted Stalin’s role in the October Revolution and reduced Trotsky and Bukharin’s roles
How many copies of the Short Course had been sold in Russia by 1948?
34 million
Why did Shostakovich come under criticism from Pravda in 1936?
Stalin attended his avant-garde opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and walked out halfway through - Pravda criticised it as “muddle instead of music” and called Shostakovich “an enemy of the people”
How were Stakhanov’s achievements used as propaganda?
Stakhanov was used as a ‘model’ worker for others to follow - those who did were given rewards, like red carpets and holidays in Moscow
Give three examples of football teams used to promote socialism in Stalin’s Russia
CSKA Moscow (the army team) Spartak Moscow (the trade union team) Dynamo Moscow (the police team) Torpedo Moscow (the car factory team) Lokomotiv Moscow (the railway workers' team)
Who was New Soviet Man?
The concept of the ideal Soviet citizen: hardworking, law-abiding, moral and supportive of the Party
