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Summary Theme 3: Control of the People 1917-85
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This document covers the third theme of edexcel history unit 2: Control of the People 1917-85 from the unit Russia, 1917-91: From Lenin to Yeltsin
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Theme 3: Control of the People 1917-853a: Media, Propaganda and Religion
State Control of Mass Media and Propaganda
-To Lenin, the press and media were CENTRAL in advancing the revolution and
ensuring that communists retained power.
-Lenin believed that revolutionary success required control of all
communications in Russia.
How Control was Established:
-Decree on Press gave the gov emergency powers to close any newspapers
supporting counter-revolution.
-Creating a state monopoly of advertisement ensured that only the gov could
publish adverts..
-Petrograd Telegraph Agency nationalized to give the gov control of electronic
means of communication.
-Establishment of Revolutionary Tribunal of Press empowered the Cheka the
cencor the press by punishing journalists that committed crimes against the
people.
-Establishing the All-Russia Telegraph Agency that was solely responsible from
distributing news.
-Papers that supported the Tsar or the Provisional Government or opposed
socialism were closed down.
By 1921, 2000 newspapers and 575 presses were closed down.
As a result, Pravda [the newspaper of the communist party] gained a much
higer circulation, and by early 1920s it became a best seller.
Early Propaganda
Propaganda was as important to Lenin as cencorship.
,1. Initial cult of Lenin
Initially, the communist regime’s pluralistic nature was reflected in the
produced propaganda. BUT. Lenin did not approve of these images, nor the
approached used by the government people.
One example that emerged and Lenin did not approve of was the cult of
Lenin.
-->Pictures of him were a form that was used to promote the gov.
The focus on him kept increasing.
After this one assasination attempt, he was described with religious terms. His
survival was described as ‘’miraculous’’ and his willingness to suffer and
sarifice his life for the people made him a modern-day Christ.
Despite his disapprovals, the cult FLOURISHED as many senior communists
believed ordinary people needed a simple message to understand..
Then, a new style of writing about Lenin appeared, where he was described as
being humane, a man of his people, a man who refused luxury and a man of
great power. He was often photographed wearing a cap, as it implied he was
approachable and down to earth.
He was aware of these things happening, he was uncomfortable, but
understood the importance of them and allowed them to continue, because
the focus on Lenin gave the revolution and the party a face, someone the
Russians could identify with and support.
2. Cartoons and Photomontage
The gov collaborated with avant-garde artists to produce posters promoting
the revo, many of them featuring Lenin.
Media and the NEP
A new organisation, Glavlit was intorduced which oversaw a more systematic
cencorship regime
-GPU was put in charge in policing every publication
-New pofessional cencors employed
-All books investigated for anti-communist bias
As a result, Soviet libraries were purged of politically dangerous books. New
‘’book Gulags’’ set up to house banned books.
Stalin’s Media
, Under Stalin, cencorship was furtherly tightenned.
-The works of Kamenev, Zinoviev, Trotsky and other revolutionaries from the
1920s were purged from the Soviet libraries.
-Lenin’s works were edited to remove any commentary about Stalin’s
opponents. Even Stalin’s works were edited to remove any indication of his
previous relationships with the ones he purged.
-Soviet history was rewritten to remove contributions of Stalin’s opponents +
to emphasise his role in the revolution.
-Restrictions placed on any type of ‘’bad news’’. Any stories about disasters,
suicides, industrial accidents or even bad weather were forbidden to create an
impression that the Soviet Union was a place which only good things
happened.
Stalin was given credit for all achievements.
-The cult of Stalin turned him into a semi-divine figure, whose unique wisdom
and vision would lead the nation to socialism.
-Propaganda also focused on the archetypal workers. Socialist Realist art along
with sculptures depicted Soviet people to be muscular, heroic, dedicated and
beautiful. The perfect embodiment of the society Stalin aimed to build.
Growing Media Pluralism
Under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, the media changed.
1. Consumer Magazines
Part of the drive to create a consumer society, magazines were ecnouraged to
publish readers’ letters.
However rather than praising the achievements of socialism, readers’ letters
often often exposed the long-term problems with the society.
Letters to women’s magazines such as Rabotnitsa exposed problems like male
alchoholism and domestic violence.
Rather than suppressing the letters, Khrushchev’s media responded with its
own campaigns against worthless men, where they focused on lack of
devotion to communism.
2. Cinema and Television
Cinema changed as part of a broader cultural ‘’thaw’’ or liberalisation. Many
films in the era focused on traditional themes such as the Soviet victory in
WW2 or the Communist victory in the civil war. Yet, rather than focusing on
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