Propgonada Censorhip And The Cult Of Stalin Flashcards
What was the cult of Stalin?
Stalin glorified people and made sure people see him as a god. His name and picture were everywhere. Cities and streets were named after him and huge parades occurred showed how fortunate it was to have Stalin.
How did Stalin change himself in history?
He made it seem that he was pivotal in the revolution and removed old bolsheviks such as Kamenev from pictures. He also photoshopped pictures showing that he was close with Lenin.
Censorship in Russia
Stalin ensured that people in Russia had little knowledge of the outside world. Press and culture were strictly controlled, newspapers were subject to censorship, radio was controlled and foreign radio stations were jammed
What is socialist realism?
Writers, artists, film makers and composers had to follow this policy. Artist’s work dealt with ordinary people and how communism was developing. It showed the positives of communism
How was religion treated in Russia?
Christian leaders were in prisoner, in 20s 60,000 priests but by early 40s, only about 5600
Churches were turned into museums
Priests were driven from villages in 5 year plans and church bells were melted to help industrialisation
More than 60,000 places were closed down and during the purges, people worshipped secretly
Society of godless and league of militant atheists were set up to promote atheist propaganda. Members smashed churches.
Mosques and Muslim schools were closed and pilgrimages to Mecca were banned
Jewish libraries, schools and synagogues were closed down and study of Hebrew was bad.
No new churches were allowed to be built in new towns or cities
How did Stalin control education?
Stalin changed education by focusing on technical and scientific skills needed by the Soviet Union for 5 year plans. By 1939, 94% of urban dwellers and 84% of rural dwellers can read and write. He also created youth groups and trained children under socialism and communism. There were different groups for different ages:
8-10 year olds join the Octobrists
10-16 year olds joined the young pioneers
16-28 year olds joined the Komsomol
Key features of the constitution
Secret ballots
Elections to the soviets every 4 years
Candidates for elections had to be approved by the Soviets
Universal suffrage for over the age of 18
Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion and arbitrary arrest
Why was the constitution introduced?
To “show” that it was the most democratic country in the world. However these freedoms were only exercised by the communist party and the real power lied with them
