Unit 9: Socitial Changes

Question 1

divorce

Answer 1

The price of divorces had raised significantly, for example the cost of a first divorce raised from 3 roubles to 50. This shows how Stalin was carrying out the Great Retreat as the a woman’s role in society declined and shifted back towards what it was like under the Tsarist system, unlike how Lenin had wanted to give women greater freedom.

Question 2

art and music

Answer 2

Under Stalin, social changes also extended into art and music. Socialist Realism meant that music was meant to by joyous and positive. Whilst Lenin had believed that the arts were to “serve the people” Stalin had thought it had more of a political role too. Symphonies were to be written in the major key, and generally music was to give a more positive.

Question 3

Writing and literature

Answer 3

Writing and literature was also restricted during this time. State control of literature was strong and Socialist Realism was proclaimed to be the basic principle of literary creation. The RAPP became the dominating force in literature and used soviet writers to “fight deviations in literature”.

Question 4

Religious changes

Answer 4

Under Stalin there was also large changes in religion. He had agreed with Lenin that religion had no place in the Soviet Union, and the Bolsheviks were aggressively atheist. Stalin’s attitudes to religion had prompted a cultural revolution. Orthodox churches and monasteries were prohibited, and other places of worship closed. By the end of the 1930s, only one in forty churches were functioning and the society became more atheist.

Question 5

Media and film

Answer 5

In the film making industry, Stalin thought the use of media was an effective way to push the message of Communism on people. It was ruled that films should be accessible to mass audience and emphasised socialist ideas. This change in films can be seen in how under the first 5YP, Stalin ordered more documentaries to support the industrial objectives, showing how he had influenced the production of media.

Question 6

Phillips historiography on art

Answer 6

“Stalin treated artists as if they were part of the industrial system.” This shows how the production of their art was more forced and controlled, and they were given less freedom to wrote whatever they wanted. Instead, their art was much more restricted to what was approved.

Question 7

Phillips on religion

Answer 7

argues that “the severity of the anti-religious programme had attracted worldwide attention” and caused Stalin to tone down his plans. Even though religion was suppressed, a large number of religious people were still able to continue with their religion as it was not a main aim for Stalin to remove.

Question 8

Service on art

Answer 8

Service mentions, “no great work of literature was published in the 1930s and all artistic figures went in fear of their lives”, showing how people were not free of artistic expression, and everything had a tight control and censorship by the state. He claims that the censorship negatively impacted the quality of the art at the time.

Question 9

Phillips on education

Answer 9

Phillips argues as Stalin also thought that education could install a dominant and superior image of communism in the youth. Heinemann notes, “Stalin realised the importance of educating the new generation in order for his aim of modernising and advancing the Soviet Union to be a success”. It was thought that if children received an education that favoured him, they would grow up to be less likely to oppose the Communist party.