Unit 1E - Russia, 1917-91: from Lenin to Yeltsin
Topic 1 Control Detailed NOTES (A-A*) with STATS+FIGURES+ Extra
knowledge for (A* STUDENTS)
METHOD 1: CONTROL OF MASS MEDIA AND PROPAGANDA
Lenin viewed the press and media as central to advancing in the revolution
and ensuring the Communists kept control of power.
Prior to the revolution, Lenin had announced to close down Bourgeois
newspapers but un-did this to retain control.
Russian government established control over the press with the following:
Decree on the Press in November 1917
Gave the government the emergency power to close down
any newspapers which supported counter revolution.
Creating a state monopoly of advertising in November 1917.
Ensured only the government could publish adverts.
Nationalising the Petrograd Telegraph Agency in November 1917.
Gave the government control of electronic means of
communication
Establishing a Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press in January 1918.
Power to censor press.
Journalists and editors who committed crimes could be
punished by the Cheka.
Cheka empowered to impose fines or prison sentences.
Established the All Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA), solely
responsible for distributing news.
Initially, Lenin only closed down papers that supported the Tsar or the
Provisional Government.
This changed to outlawing opposition Socialist newspapers
By 1921, the Communists had shut down 2000 newspapers.
575 printing presses.
Control of the press was also important during Civil War.
As a consequence of these policies, the Communist newspaper “Pravda”,
was a lot higher in circulation than any other newspaper.
Bestselling publication in the Soviet Union.
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,Newspapers
Lenin quickly stamped out signs of freedom of the press, viewing newspapers as
mouthpieces of the bourgeoise.
- A decree in November 1917 banned all non-socialist newspapers and all non-
Bolshevik papers were eliminated.
- Printing press was nationalised with access restricted to those favouring the
workers and the socialist order.
- Editor's and journalists were employees of the government. Members of the
Soviet Union journalists had to be apart of the politburo.
- Approval from Glavlit was needed for every article (censorship office).
Impact of Newspapers
Daily newspapers were Pravda Truth and Ivestiya (News), Pravada (Party
Paper) was the newspapers of the communist party whilst Izvestiya was the
paper of the government. They were used to highlight the achievements of
the government and socialism as they were instruments of propaganda.
The guiding press was partiinost (party mindedness).
They were cheap to buy and available everywhere to ensure high
readership.
Pravda had a circulation of 10.7 million in 1983.
Trud (labour) was even more popular with a print run of 13,5 million.
Gave details on the achievements of socialism eg production figures were
emphasised.
Favour topics were: successful expeditions to the Artic (triumph of
technology over nature) , Russia search for gold and oil.
Prohibited topics were plane crashes/natural disasters for example a fire in
July 1972 outside of Moscow was delayed by a month before it got reported
(only because the blue haze had to be explained). Nuclear waste tank
exploded with 200 deaths , 270,000 people exposed to radiation and 30
small communities disappeared but the government still took 2 years to
evacuate everyone.
Print on small criticism eg housing was allowed but criticising part leaders
was not.
Magazines
Vast selection of magazines and journals for all aspects of consumers eg
sports, religion , women magazines etc.
Most aimed at a specific group such as workers, farmers or teachers.
Some topics were prohibited eg sex, pornography, crime and religion was
not encouraged.
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, Sovetskii Sport was a very popular magazine that gained respect due to
its accurate and honesty (still was forced to carry out political news though).
Radios
Radio had broadcasted October Revolution in 1917 in morse code, this
quickly developed to voice radio and by 1921 programmes was being
broadcasted.
The Spoken Newspaper of the Russian Telegraph AGENCY FEATURED NEWS
AND PROPOGANDA MATERIAL WITH LITTLE EMPHASIS ON MUSIC.
Radio receivers where expensive therefore loudspeakers were installed by
the Bolshevik in public to make sure everyone hears it. Way of ensuring
everyone got the message.
Control of radio was very centralised through the commissariat for Posts and
Telegraph. By 1922, Moscow had a well-developed broadcasting station.
Enabled government to get its message across to the 65% of its population
which was illiterate.
The speed at which governments could convey messages was invaluable as it
allowed information to spread rapidly across the USSR.
Most new apartment blocks were wired for radio reception but
was restricted to government stations only, Until 1964 there was only one
soviet radio station, under Brezhnev it was extended to three including
Radio Maiak (Lighthouse).
Radio Maiak was popular among the Soviet youth, and it played foreign
music. Government tried to restrict foreign stations by
mass producing cheap radios with limited reception range. They also tried to
jam foreign foreign broadcasts and threaten arrests to stations such as Voice
of America or BBC.
Rarely succeeded.
Television
By the 1950s, TV became the key method by the government to convey its
message.
It went from 10,000 sets in 1950 to 3 million in 1958. Mass production of Tv
brought their price within the range of the population however it was in
shortage.
By the early 1980s the rural population had access to TV.
Government had provided a mix of news, documentaries on
the achievements of socialism and cultural programmes on ballet and the
classical arts.
Life in the Soviet Union was presented as joyous whereas life under
capitalism was rife with crime, homelessness and full of violence.
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, Television also took off during Khrushchev’s rule.
Between 1960-1964, Soviet television was successful in supporting the Communist
regime.
Played a major role in celebrating the Soviet Union’s success in the Space race.
In 1961 millions of people tuned into watch a five-hour programme celebrating Yuri
Gagarin’s space voyage.
By the 1970s the Soviet Singer Eduard Krill (Trololol) became a celebrity
through his easy listening to music.
Positive features of Soviet TV included broadcasts of local programming for
the regions of the USSR and often in its own language.
Soviet cinema and television:
Soviet cinema changed under Khrushchev as part of a broader cultural thaw
or liberalisation.
Many of the films focused on traditional themes such as the soviet victory in
WW2.
And the Communist victory during the Civil War.
Under Brezhnev, film and TV culture changed.
Kept traditional elements such as success in World War Two.
However, during the same period, there were more films dealing with the
working people’s lives. Soviet film makers tended to focus on citizens in
luxurious apartments, causing a spike in desire for consumer goods and
fashion.
Brezhnev attempted to use television for his own good.
Partially successful:
- Government were able to keep tight control of what was being broadcasted
about the War in Afghanistan.
- Transmission of Brezhnev’s speeches were at full and he was the centre of a
great deal of domestic media coverage.
However, by 1970, this tactic backfired, the camera’s showed Brezhnev as an
old man who was clearly physically incapable.
Unable to make speeches.
Became confused mid-sentence.
Difficulty walking.
Television voice-overs praised Brezhnev but still, viewers could see his
physical incapacity for themselves.
Under Brezhnev, Soviet leaders also lost control of the print media.
KGB continued to police political publications.
Work of dissidents.
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