theme 3: control of the people 1917-1985 Flashcards
what did Andropov do to take control of youth culture issues?
accommodated popular music
reduced soviet music to 20% of airtime
Komsomol groups patrolled streets and reported any unacceptable activity
what happened to an art gallery director displaying dissident art?
he got 8 years in prison
- trials of Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuki Daniel
- arrested and accused of non-Soviet propaganda for short novels depicting harsh reality of soviet life under pseudonyms. resulted in demonstration of 200 + students. sinyavsky for 7 years, daniels for 5
Trial of Joseph Brodsky
- poems were read to secret gatherings. sentenced 5 years hard labour in prison for ‘parasitism’ and not producing anything of material value for the soviet state.
despite khrushchevs cultural thaw, Brezhnev had limits
how did Brezhnev try to limit spread of western influence in popular youth culture
control over radio
undermined by cassette recorders -> widely available by 1980s
In the 1970s how did culture change
- became more conservative
- sexual themes over political themes frowned upon in art
what did official culture focus on under brezhnev
focused on propaganda and achievements of socialist. encouraged Russian nationalism. majority of population preferred this even if it was undemanding for artists
how did Brezhnev change limits on what artists were allowed to do
increased limits on what was acceptable,
many artists continued to push them
examples of Khrushchev personally attacking culture
he hated abstract art and criticised one at exhibition but no action was taken
without reading a book he banned it, however it was smuggled into Italy and published and won a literature award which was embarrassing for khrushchev
issues with youth culture under khrushchev
late 1950s youth culture adopted music taste and styles from the west. in 1955 western music was broadcasted into the ussr. audiences at concerts were small but music was distributed with tape recorders which made it hard to control
what was nonconformity like under Khrushchev?
writings about bleak rural life, criticisms of the soviet state and society were made.
which Khrushchev came increasingly less tolerant of
what did Khrushchev allow?
previously banned work could be published such as Isaac babel who was shot during the purges
jazz made a reappearance which Khrushchev hated
what renewed oppression in culture after WW2
Zhdanovschina campaign expelled all western influences so all freedom disappeared again
what happened after ww2 with culture?
artists were allowed greater freedoms. anna Akhmatova and boris Pasternak were allowed to give readings of their unorthodox poems
did people like socialist realism?
whilst it was out of touch with reality it inspired many party members and provided effective escapism for the population
films under socialist realism + example
centred around achievements of revolution. Eisenstein used live ammunition in his retelling of the storing of the winter palace causing more deaths of extras then deaths of the real event
art under socialist realism
no experimentation. many statues of stalin started to appear
architecture under socialist realism
‘Stalinist baroque’ / wedding cake architecture. Moscow university rebuilt in this style 1945
Moscow metro had chandeliers and elaborate murials
music under socialist realism
favoured military songs over jazz. banned saxophone in 1940s
literature under socialist realism
focused on heroes of the party. population access to books was increased through low prices and growth in library acquisitions.
party controlled what was published
artists let their work suffer, gave up writing, smuggled material abroad to be published or die in labour camps. some committee suicide
what was Socialist Realism?
art presenting idealised images of socialist life to inspire the population and convince them of stalins statement that “life has become more joyous”
when was RAPP closed down and what was it replaced with?
- Union of Soviet Writers, bought cultural revolution to an end
what was the cult of the ‘little man’? and example of such material
novels that glorified the achievements of industrial workers and collective peasants.
Kataevs ‘Time Forward’ novel 1932 recounted record breaking shift at Magnitogorsk
what was RAPP and what did they do?
Russian Association of Proletarian Writers who made attacks on Fellow Travellers and condemned individualist writers
what was the cultural revolution and what was the role of the Komsomol?
sweeping away of old bourgeois elements of society, included attack on traditional writers and artists previously tolerated under lenin
Komsomol members encouraged to boo at the playa of suspects
what was the problem with avant garde culture?
often too sophisticated for audiences to understand. did not represent the peoples values and beliefs.
some theatre pieces were cancelled after one showing as no one could understand them
what was avant garde?
abstract and modern art with futuristic themes. propaganda was genuinely innovative.
emphasis on visual art due to low literacy levels
caused first appearance of jazz in Russia to mixed reviews
what cause avant garde?
WW1 and the sweeping away of old Russia created the opportunity for experimentation
what was the problem with prolekult culture?
the government were concerned about the number of viewpoints expressed
what were people creating prolekult culture called/
constructivists
what was used to promote prolekult
festivals were used with food rations as incentive for attendance
what was prolekult/proletarian culture?
media that reflected the lives of ordinary people such as poems about machines of factories. peasants were encouraged to produce their own culture
what did Trotsky label those who created traditional Russian culture as?
Fellow Travellers
what was lenins attitude towards culture
lenin did not have much censorship because he enjoyed traditional Russian culture
what was created in 1917 for culture
Commissariat of Enlightenment
what did Andropov do to reduce the number of dissidents
tried to visit factories and hear the views of the public but many felt intimidated and scared to complain to the former head of the KGB
in 1982 how did Andropov’s monitoring of dissident groups increase?
surveillance was highly increased, conversations were recorded using tape and cassettes, listening devices and cameras were hidden in briefcases and bras.
what did Andropov become in 1982?
General secretary of the communist party
impact of dissidents
despite fears from the government dissidents had very little support and impact. they were not a coherent group of a movement
why did the state use psychiatric ward to deal with dissidents?
it discredited the dissidents in the eyes of the public.
special ‘hospitals’ were run by the NKVD and the ‘patients’ were held until they were ‘cured’ i.e. changed their opinions, patients who refused were ‘treated’ with drugs and electric shocks
what did the new criminal code of 1960 do
it abolished night-time interrogations and limited the powers of the KGB
what actions were taken against dissidents?
- intellectuals threatened with expulsion from their professional organisations
- any material or apparatus that could be used to print and distribute material
- arrests were made
- dissidents were sent to psychiatric hospitals
- exile
example of an intellectual dissident
Andrei Sakharov the nuclear scientist who wanted the ability to exchange ideas with foreign scientists which was prohibited. in frustration him and other leading scientists wrote to Brezhnev and were banned from further military research.
