cult of personality & society

• Stalin portrayed as

  Infallible leader, a sure guide, successor to Marx and Lenin, a father figure, a true Bolshevik
• Falsified history

  • Rivals reimagined as enemies of the people and excised from books/photos
• Patronage

  • Cities and factories named after those in Stalin's inner circle; creates a sense of exclusivity that'd convince people to follow the same steps necessary
• Tsarist symbolism

  The Tsar cared for all his people as he was like a father to him; the nostalgia that would resonate with the Soviet people
• Literature & Artists

  1. 1932 - writers had to belong to Union of Soviet writers

  2. 1932 - art critics and artists to join Union of Artists

  3. Adhere to 'socialist realism' doctrine
• Socialist realism doctrine

  To show that Socialist life was moving towards an idealised society
• Andrei Zhdanov

  Figure in April 1934 at the first Congress of the Union of Soviet Writers, who laid the foundation of conforming to party ideology in creative works
• New artistic endeavour was constrained by political demands
• Music

  • Return to Russian classical composers [Glinka and Tchaikovsky]
  • Folk culture was promoted – to represent a Russian 'national culture'
  • Pure Stalinist invention – to praise Russia's great heritage
• Propaganda

  A way of education Soviet workers can peasants about the 'truth' of Stalinism and the importance of building socialism – the state controlled all the media. Stalinist campaigns to create enthusiasm, aspiration and national pride – FYPs relied on propaganda to convince people that it is successful and beneficial to their economy and lifestyle
• Propaganda messages

  • Everyone can and should contribute
  • Class enemies are agents of foreign imperialist powers
  • Glories of a new socialist society where all workers' dreams were coming true
• Propaganda

  • Paintings, poems, posters, slogans and sculptures glorified Stalin and displayed warnings about dangers of USSR's enemies
  • Written works dedicated and prefaced with acknowledgements of Stalin's genius
• Propaganda in education

  • Early in nurseries and schools – messages about the glories of communism, textbooks and lessons glorified Soviet achievements
  • The History of the All-Union Communist Party: Short Course – students site for answers and read; ambitious Party members learned it by heart
• Propaganda stories

  • Pavlik Morozov praised as a martyr for denouncing father as friend of kulaks, considered a child-hero
• Work-heroes

  • Stakhanov to inspire workers to out-perform their targets
  • 'Worker and Kolkhoz Woman' 24.5m statue [ by Vera Mukhina for the 1937 World Trade Fair in Paris]
• Peasants resisted process of collectivisation

  Collectivised households dropped from 50% to 20%
• Stakhanovites challenged managers

  Intimidation, jealousy and power imbalance
• Jokes, popular songs and graffiti mocked the failures of the FYPs

  Undermined FYP and the concept of industrialisation
• Individual expression was deemed politically suspicious which risked exclusion and no sales
• Expected to glorify the working man and communities working together and embracing new tech – to produce an uplifting and optimistic attitude to the future of USSR
• Soviet culture was for the 'ordinary people' and no attempt to create a new proletariat culture
• Anyone who doesn't conform would be banned from working and potentially imprisoned and exiled
• Full scale socialist offensive – show that everything is fitting perfectly for USSR
• Everyone can and should contribute

  Message promoting the idea of equality and inclusivity; suggests that everyone has something valuable to offer and should be encouraged to participate and contribute to society
• Propaganda messages

  Messages intended to promote a specific ideology or point of view; often biased or misleading, and used to influence people's opinions or beliefs
• Divisive language

  Language used in propaganda messages to create a sense of fear or mistrust towards certain groups or individuals; often used to encourage people to view certain groups as enemies or threats