State control of mass media and propaganda under Khrushchev Flashcards
Under Khrushchev and Brezhnev the media…
changed
How did the media change under Khrushchev and Brezhnev?
As part of their attempts to create a new consumer society magazines proliferated, as did radios and television sets
As part of the drive to create a consumer society, magazines were encouraged to publish…
readers’ letters
However, rather than praising the achievements of socialism, readers’ letters often exposed…
long-term problems with Soviet society
In consumer magazines, what did readers complain about?
The quality and scarcity of consumer goods
Letters to women’s magazines, like Rabotnitsa (the Woman Worker), exposed more profound problems - what did readers complain about?
Readers complained about male alcoholism, inequalities in the home relating to childcare and housework, as well as domestic violence
Rather than suppressing the letters, what did Khrushchev’s media do?
Khrushchev’s media responded with its own campaigns against worthless men. Instead of focusing on the domestic failure of men, they focused on male hypocrisy and lack of devotion to Communism
Krokodil
Krokodil was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1922 as the satirical supplement to the Workers’ Gazette
Cartoons in Krokodil, a satirical magazine, poked fun at…
men who arrived at parades drunk, late or not at all
Soviet cinema also changed under Khrushchev as part of…
a broader cultural “thaw”, or liberalisation
Many of the films of this era focused on…
traditional themes such as the Soviet victory in the Civil War. Yet, rather than focusing on the contribution of Stalin, films focused on the role played by ordinary people
Name the films of this era that focused on the role played by ordinary people
The Forty-First (1956)
The Cranes are Flying (1957)
Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Television also took off in Khrushchev’s last years. Between ___ and ___ Soviet television was broadly successful in _____ the regime
1960
1964
supporting
Television played a major role in celebrating the Soviet Union’s triumphs in the space race - expand on this claim
In 1961 millions of viewers watched a five-hour programme celebrating Yuri Gagarin’s space flight
Similar shows in 1963 focused on Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space
What did television coverage stress about Valentina Tereshkova?
Television coverage stressed her ordinariness: she was born on a collective farm and then became a textile worker in a Soviet factory
