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Summary ALEVEL RUSSIA COURSE NOTES Cornell notes Control of the People, 1917-85
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NOTES for Russia a-level course from an a* student Cornell notes Control of the People, 1917-85
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Key Words: Notes on: Control of the People, 1917-85, Pages 36-48 Revision GuideChallenge Task: Read and make notes on relevant chapters from one of the
recommended reading titles on Page 87 Communist States Textbook
Section 1:
• State Control of Mass Media and Propaganda
Newspapers: A degree in November 1917 banned all non-socialist
newspapers and by early 1920s, all non-Bolshevik papers were eliminated.
Approval from Glavlit, the censorship office, was needed for every article
written for publication. Daily newspapers included Pravda (truth) and
Izvestiya (news). Pravda was the newspaper of the Communist party, both
were used as vehicles of propaganda, highlighting the achievements of the
government and socialism. To ensure high readership, papers were cheap to
buy and widely available, and posted on boards for free. Pravda had a
circulation of 10.7 million in 1983. The paper of the government (Trud) had
print run of 13.5 million. Newspaper's carried endless details about
achievements of socialism, production figures and exceeding targets. In July
1972, a vast fire got out of control outside Moscow, but it took a month for
it to be explained. In September 1957 a nuclear waste storage tank
exploded, resulted in at least 200 deaths and over 270,000 people being
exposed to dangerous radiation levels, this was only found out by public
when small communities disappeared from maps between 1958 and 1991, it
took the government 2 years to evacuate unsafe areas.
Magazines: aimed at specific groups such as farmers, soldiers, or teachers,
young children, and sports fans. Areas that were off limit were sex,
pornography, crime and religion. Red Sport was established in 1924 and
after in 1946 Sovetskii Sport was hugely popular due to accuracy and
honesty in sports coverage.
Radio: The Spoken Newspaper of the Russian Telegraph Agency featured
news and propaganda, with little music. Bolsheviks installed loudspeakers in
public places. Control of radio communications was centralised through the
Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs. Radio was useful medium as it got
message to 65% of population what was illiterate. Most new apartment
blocks were wired for radio reception, so access only restricted to
government stations only. Until 1964, there was only one radio station.
Television: in 1950, the USSR had 10,000 sets; by 1958 this number had
risen to almost 3 million. Mass production of TVs in 1960s made them
affordable. By 1980s most of rural population had access to a television. The
government stations provided a mix of news, documentaries, achievements
of socialism, cultural programmes on ballet and classical arts. Under
capitalism life was presented as rife with crime, homelessness and violence.
By 1985, there were 2 channels and emphasis on light entertainment.
Cult of personality Section 2:
Hagiography • The Personality Cults of Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev
Why was a cult of personality used: As soon as Lenin was buried, he was
hailed a hero of Revolution. The newspapers, statues and the cinema all
contained endless images of Lenin. The long queues to see the embalmed
body of Lenin were evidence of this support. Stalin promoted himself as
, worthy defender of the work of Lenin. Useful to reinforce Stalin’s claim to be
Lenin’s rightful successor.
The cult of Stalin: In the first phase, links were highlighted between Stalin
and Lenin. Stalin was presented as Lenin's closest colleague. As early as
1925, the town of Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad. Slogan ‘Stalin is the
Lenin of today’ became widely used. In the 1930s, images of Stalin were
used to reinforce power, giving impression of an all present and all-knowing
leader. Images portrayed Stalin as a defender of socialism, for example
Stalin posing at the Ryon hydroelectric complex in 1935. Pictures of Stalin
with children, presenting him as a father. Posters of Stalin in uniform
showed him as the defender of Mother Russia. In official biography's,
Stalin's life was embellished showing him as a devoted son despite seeing
his mother 3 times in 40 years. Stalin gathered titles and honours such as
‘Brillian Genius of Humanity’ and ‘Gardener of Human Happiness’. There
was a ‘Song About Stalin’ composed by M. Izakvosky. Statues of Stalin in
most cities. By the 1953, many towns had been renamed after Stalin. The
Volga-Don Canal was littered with statues of Stalin. Even prisoners in the
Gulags wept when they heard of Stalin’s death.
The cult of Khrushchev: Khrushchev had condemned Stalin’s use of
personality cults in a speech in 1956. This criticism allowed for de-
Stalinisation. A cult allowed Khrushchev to seem like the more powerful
leader as power had been shared with Malenkov. Visits to collective farms
were good photo opportunities. Development of a cult reflected
Khrushchev’s egotistical personality. He made use of radio, cinema, and
television.
The cult of Brezhnev: useful after 1964 as Brezhnev sought to emerge as
first among equals. Th cult gave him the symbol of power without having to
exercise it. Brezhnev was content with the trappings of power, being
awarded at least 100 medals. The cult took a more practical element after
1975 when Brezhnev’s health deteriorated. A series of stokes left him
incapacitated, the cult gave appearance of leadership when Brezhnev was
clinically dead for 6 years.
Sharia laws Section 3:
Mullah • Attacks on Religious Beliefs and Practices
Ramadan The Russian Orthodox Church: Church seen as a threat to socialist ideology,
Polygamy as church offered an alternative ideology to Marxism. Lenin had a particular
hatred for priests. Bolsheviks aimed to destroy church and influence as there
was to be no ‘opium of the masses’ other than communism. In 1918, the
Degree on Freedom of Conscience separated the Orthodox church from
state. The church was deprived of land, its publications were outlawed and
all religious education outside the hoke was banned. By the end of 1918, the
head of Orthodox and Patriarch Tikhon were under house arrest. During
famine in the civil war, items were stolen from churches to pay for food.
Priests were deprived of vote, denied rations during civil war and were
victims of Red Terror 1921-22. By 1923, 28 Bishops and more than 1,000
priests had been killed. In 1929, the league of Militant Godless was
established by Bolsheviks as part of propaganda campaign, it included taking
peasants for plane rides to disprove existence of God. Surveys of peasants in
1920s showed 55% were still active Christians.
Changes to religious policy under Stalin: more churches were closed, and
village priests were labelled as ‘kulaks’ and deported. Further attacks
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