state and cultural change

Question 1

what was Lenin’s attitudes about culture

Answer 1

culture was a vital but inferior
his tastes where conservative as he liked classical Russian culture and wanted to keep high calibre writers and artists on his side.

Question 2

what did Lenin set up to support artists

Answer 2

Commissariat of Enlightenment (ministry of culture) to support and encourage artists which replaced heavy censorship and restrictions of the old regime

welcoming non communists artists who were sympathetic to the regime as Fellow travellers

Question 3

what was the second culture policy and who established it

Answer 3

Anatoly Lunacharksy head of commissar of enlightenment set up the Proletkult

Question 4

what did the Proletkult do

Answer 4

helped to nurture artistic talent among working people. by 1920 300 studios set up in russia.

The art was argued to serve social and political purpose.

workers were encouraged to produce their own culture, by writing stories or performing plays government made theatre based on social values and parades set up directed by the party (propaganda)

Question 5

what happened to proletkult

Answer 5

Lenin believed work was too avant-garde and Lenin wanted to produce work that represented human spirit .in 1920 Proletkult lost its independence and funds for radical project were cut and diverted to traditional art e.g. ballet.

Question 6

what was avant-garde

Answer 6

revolution led to experimental movements of new styles, abstract art including geometry and dreams. they collaborated with communists to make propaganda as literacy rates were so low.

Question 7

examples of avant-garde artists who promoted propaganda

Answer 7

Mayaovsky made graphic poster for civil war but was innovative

Rodchenko used technques such as photomage to make posters celebrating the revolution

Question 8

what movment was introduced in the late 1920’s

Answer 8

cultural revolution, to purge all bourgeois elements of soviet rule e.g. Fellow travellers were condemned and replaced by socialist artists. theatre plays were booed etc.

Question 9

what was Stalin’s view on art

Answer 9

he was suspicious of avant-garde and argued that art should use traditional technique to serve the government

Question 10

what did Stalin start

Answer 10

socialist realism

Question 11

what did socialist realism entail

Answer 11

art and culture that would present ideal images of socialism to inspire population of its achievements, those who refused were restricted by the union of soviet writers and ended up emigrating or were sent to labour camps. art was used as propaganda and to mobilise population

Question 12

socialist realism effect on art

Answer 12

no avant-garde, used to protect the regime and project ideal life under 5 year plans and peasants working. pushed Stalin’s cult of personality

Question 13

socialist realism effect on literature

Answer 13

away from cult of the little man and towards hero’s of the party e.g. standard plot of books was of hero from the people who is guided by the party to do great things. population had easy access due to low cost of book and increase in libraries.

Question 14

socialist realism effect on music

Answer 14

banned saxophones in 1940 due to decadent view of Jazz. favouring military songs

Question 15

socialist realism effect on architecture

Answer 15

Stalin baroque, e.g. metro was designed with chandeliers and elaborate murals showing endeavours of the workers

Question 16

socialist realism effect on film

Answer 16

achievements of revolution conveyed through film e.g. Eisenstein’s October (1927),

Question 17

change between 1917-53

Answer 17

soviet art transformed from free and experimental to controlled and conservative

Question 18

culture during Stalin’s last years

Answer 18

after WW2 nearly changed as unorthodox poetry readings were allowed in Moscow in 1946 but western culture campaign dispelled element of change

Question 19

what did Khrushchev want for culture and art

Answer 19

he wanted to allow more freedom, due to de-Stalinisation previous work that was banned was allowed to be published

but did have freeze periods were government re-imposed tighter control once artists went too far e.g. criticism on Leninism

Question 20

Khrushchev’s thaw’s examples

Answer 20

jazz music reappeared, Issacs babel who was shot during the purges works were published
The thaw was published which was critical of Stalin’s terror, books published critical of Stalin’s rule

western culture of tight suits and short skirts, rock and roll and pop music developed. USSR broadcasted voice of America in 1955

Question 21

what did Krushchev challenge using art and krushchev’s restrictions

Answer 21

non-conformity e.g. lazy government officials and alcoholics

began poster campaigns to challenge non-conformity e.g. the alcoholic poster

started a campaign against women in western clothing saying fashion was wasteful

Komsomol groups employed to patrol streets and dance halls to stop inappropriate behaviour

Khrushchev hated abstract art and jazz music

Question 22

Brezhnev’s view on cultural and art

Answer 22

narrowed the boundaries of what was acceptable in Khrushchev’s cultural thaw. but artists stilled tried to push the boundaries

culture still pushed for propaganda and achievements of socialism.

Question 23

examples of non-conformity in Brezhnev years

Answer 23

soviet culture became more conservative

rock and western culture still influenced youth

artist’s used subtexts to undermine government

Question 24

Brezhnev’s restrictions on art and culture

Answer 24

trial of Joseph Brodsky 1964, Brodsky read poems in secret gathering and was arrested for not being a licensed poet under writers union and accused of parasitism and sentenced to 5 years in hard labour camp to send message to non conformity. he was released in 2 but expelled from soviet union

trial of Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel 1966, they wrote novels on soviet life as harsh and surreal and sentenced Yuli to 5 years and sinyavsky to 7 years imprisonment to send message under anti soviet propaganda

control and clampdown examples, state subsidies to ensure access to radios and venues to control and direct cultural output

employment could be withdrawn from troublemakers

abstract and experimental art still band, head of local art gallery was sentenced to labour camps for displaying art by dissident painters.

bulldozed a open air illegal exhibition but incident was filmed and art was put back on display.

Question 25

andropovs clamp down on arts and culture

Answer 25

governemnt restictied musci not produced by official soviet composers