Unit 3 - Control of the People

• Propaganda - Lenin

  • L surving his assasination attempt in Aug 1918 - story was exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Survival described as 'miraculous' and used as evidence for his willingness to suffer and sacrifice
  • 'Cult of Lenin' - images as personification of Communist ideal as an inspiration to ordinary people to strengthen Bolshevik power
  • Portrayed as an ordinary man pictured in a simple cap - a style popular with industrial workers which made L seem more approachable
• Propaganda - Stalin

  • WW2 - portrayed as a fearless military leader who was responsible for defeating Germany - referred to 'Generalissimo'
  • 1938 - Edited and published 2 books about Soviet Union highlighting his role in the revolution
  • Writings by Lenin edited to remove passages that were complimentray of opponents and emphasised the closeness of their relationship
  • Key message of a natural heir to Lenin and acrrying on his legacy - Shegal's painting 'Leader, Teacher, Friend' pictured Stalin in front of a bust of Lenin
• Propaganda - Khrushchev

  • COP depicted him as a disciple of Lenin and a hero of WW2 (responsible for the USSR' successes of the space programme)
  • Critical of Stalin's COP - promoting hero worship of a particular individual was anti-Communist
  • 1960s undermined own COP - had been heavily based on idea that he was a political innovator (failure of Virgin Land Scheme and Corn Campaign)
  • Revival of Lenin's COP - appearing in propaganda as hard working (part of distancing from Stalin's and to build support based on L's revolution rather than St's use of terror)
• Propaganda - Brezhnev

  • Opposed to COP's but needed to strenghten position - adopted for pragmatic reasons
  • Stopped forced closure of churches and ended propaganda campaigns against religion
  • Presented as a military hero - appointed himself Marshall of the USSR in 1976
  • COP - based on idea of L's successor, military hero (covered in medals/honours) Dedicated to world peace which was promoted through speeches and photographs
  • Ordered memoir to be written exaggerating his contriubtions to WW2
• Terror - Lenin

  • Cheka: outside of law, eliminating enemies of Bolsheviks using torture and execution without trial (1917-23 executed 200,000)
  • Oryol Cheka froze bodies of victims + displayed them as ice statues
  • After CW: Cheka engaged in surveillance of sucpicious individuals
  • RT after Oct Rev and CW estimated 50,000 - 140,000 executed
  • 1922: ordering of trials of political opponents (SR's) accused of treason,sabotage + plotting to overthrow power
  • Policed semi-cap market place established by NEPmen + imprisoning NEPmen who had grown too rich + harrassing women in Western style
• Terror - Stalin

  • NKVD used to conduct purges
  • Great Terror 1935-38 ordered the deaths of 10 million (10% of male population)
  • 'Show trials' where rivals forced to stand public trials for crimes often made - Trial of 16 (Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 other supporters)
  • Jadid and Safi Muslim groups attacked - 1936 Sufi groups had been virtually eliminated in Turkestan
  • Purged Red Army many who worked under command of Trotsky - 1937 8 senior officials executed in secret trial
• Terror - Khrushchev

  • Ended use of terror against CP members - 1953-60 2 million political prisoners released
  • Encouraged rehabilitation and 'popular oversight' where citizens disciplined themselves + each other
  • Secret police still existed - Party members who opposed K recieved psychiartic treatment in hospitals to imprison them for their political beliefs
  • Critical of St's use of terror and used in de-Stalinisation
  • 1960 Central Committe demanded his resignation and K commented 'Stalin would have had them shot'
• Terror - Brezhnev

  • Suspicious of high levels of freedom permitted under K
  • USSR signed Helsinki Agreement 1975 - commitment to protecting human rights (dissidents could use it to apply pressure to the gov)
  • Dissideents sent to hospitals to recieve psychiatric treatment limitless amount of time (could be kept secret as medical records private)
  • Andropov promoted to head KGB in 1967 - key to suppress dissidents
  • 1968 A issued Order NO.0051 which increased surveillance against dissidents
  • Emigration was A's preferred method
• Terror - Andropov

  • Head of KGB - main goal to control dissidents
  • Order NO.0051 - increased surveillance of dissidents and permitted action by authorities against them
  • Included highly public trials of artists 1964-66 - prompted outcry from abroad and were and embarrassment to the gov
  • Dissident s once identified encouraged to leave/emigrate - 1970s around 100,000 left
  • Discipline - agents sacked if relatives broke the law
• Religion - Lenin

  • Decree on Land 1917 - gave peasants legal right to seize property from the church
  • Religion opposed Communist values convinced the church was the enemy of the revolution
  • 1918 - Decree on Freedom of Conscience separated Orthodox Church from state
  • During famine attacks on church increased and valuable objects seized to help pay for food. Priests denied vote and rations
  • By 1923 over 1,000 priests killed
  • Method of control over proletariat
  • The Living Church 1923 - reformed version of Russian Orthodox Church under control of Bolsheviks - weaker influence over people
• Religion - Stalin

  • Closed many Russian Orthodox churches during collectivisation as they were assisting peasants in hiding grain to avoid requisitioning
  • In Central Asian republics Islam was dominant and the NKVD attacked priests
  • In WW2 realised that religion had the power to inspire people
  • Re-opened 414 churches that had been shut
  • Soldiers found comfort in the thought of lord and heaven
  • Russian Orthodox priesthood expanded 9,000 in 1946 and 12,000 by 1948
  • Only attacked when disrupted policies
• Religion - Khrushchev

  • 1958 - launched anit-religious campaign. Closed churches that re-opened in WW2 and release anti-religious propaganda
  • 1960 - anti-religious magazine 'Science and Religion' published and access to holy site prohibited
  • Space programme - Gagarin commented he found no God in Heaven, Tereshkova said space confirmed her atheism
  • Russian Orthodox churches decreased by 3,000 1958-65
  • Some women home educated their children to avoid anti-religious propaganda as 2/3 of Orthodox churchgoers were women. Men encouraged to take leading role in education of their children
• Religion - Brezhnev

  • Abandoned K's overt campaign and instead encouraged atheism
  • Used to further foreign policy of seekng allies in Middle East
  • 1968 Institute for Scientific Atheism opened advising teachers to spread it
  • 1960s described Islam as 'progressive and compatible with socialism'
  • Atheism promotion unsuccessful as religious affiliation remained 20% 1960-85
• Religion - Andropov

  • Encouraged Jewish emigration to Israel
  • Argued Jew were more likely to be dissident - only 1% of population but made 20% of journalists
• Mass Media - Lenin

  • 1917 - Decree on the Press Bolsheviks emergency power to close newspapers not in support of the revolution
  • 1918 - outlawed all non-Socialist newspapers
  • 1918 - set up a Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press with the power ton censor the press, fine or imprison journalists that committed 'crimes against the people'
  • 1921 - 2,000 newspapers and 575 printing presses shut down
  • Early 1920s - Pravda (Truth) was the highest circulating publication
  • 1922 - Glavlit (press censorship) employed professional censors, compiled a list of banned books and libraries
• Mass Media - Stalin

  • Banned publication of bad news (natural disasters, industrial accidents and bad weather) impression that USSR was a place where only good things happened
  • Tightened censorship using the media to consolidate and preserve power by undermining opponenets (hiding failures,promoting success)
  • 1928 -Glavlit controlled media access to all economic data (failures of economic policy could be covered)
• Mass Media - Khrushchev

  • Promote development of consumer society and achieve de-Stalinisation
  • Relaxed control allowing publication of popular magazines highlighting social problems - 'The Women Worker' included letters complaining about domestic violence
  • Quick to take action - novel 'Doctor Zhivago' critical of L so K banned it
  • TV ownership increased - used to support broader aims and promote successes of ordinary people
• Mass Media - Brezhnev

  • Control of media relaxed
  • Ownesrhip of TVs and radios increased - aim of creating a consumer society
  • Loss of control over print media - KGB struggled to stop printing of political magazines
  • Institute for Scientific Atheism (1968) published articles and newspapers promoting atheism and instructed teachers how to spread it
  • Controlled footage available on broadcast - War on Afghanisatan limited
  • Television an issue in 1970s as presented contrast - Br claimed to be healthy but showed mental and physical decline
• Art and Culture - Lenin

  • Could be used as inspiration to support Bolshevik government
  • Agitprop (1920) - work produced by avant garde artists in an experimental style using bold colours and geometric shapes
  • Believed cinema most important art form of 20th century
  • Disapproved of 'Cult of Lenin' as believed there was no place for heroes in a socialist society but used to strengthen Bolshevik power
  • Celebration of working class art known as 'Proletkult'
• Art and Culture - Stalin

  • From 1932 encouraged Socialist Realism through creation of art depicting socialist version of reality
  • Critical of the influence of foreign culture like American fashion and music. Arrgued that jazz encouraged sexual promiscuity and used the secret police to break up jazz parties
  • Five-Year Plans were celebrated by Klutsin in 'The Storm od the Third Year of the Five Year Plan' which gave a heroic depiction of miners at work
• Art and Culture - Khrushchev

  • Less cultural freedom to women - discouraged from following Western fashions and being sexually promiscuous in propaganda campaigns like 'Loose Women'
  • 1957 - Allowed jazz and African usic at the 'World Youth Festival' in Moscow
  • Permitted works of American and European classical composers to be taught in schools
  • Permitted intellectuals to criticise Ehrenburg's 'The Thaws' as it was critical of Stalin
  • Policies went trhough 'freezes' and 'thaws' where freedom of expression was allowed
• Art and Culture - Brezhnev

  • Promoted style 'nostalgia' which looked back on beginnings of Communist rule in a romanticised way only highlighting positves
  • 1970 film 'Liberation' and its 4 sequels celebrated Soviet victory in WW2
  • Took action to censor style which did not fit in with favoured style
  • Critical of K's 'thaws' as he felt they weakened rule - KGB report 1965 found over 1,000 anti-Soviet authors wrote 10,000 documents under K
  • Conservative after Prague Spring of 1968 as greater freedom of expression led to calls for end to Communist rule