Russia Theme 3: Control of the people, 1917–85 Flashcards
(38 cards)
how were newspapers utilised by the state?
all non-socialist newspapers banned in 1917; by 1920s all non-B newspapers were eliminated. press industry was nationalised.
the two main newspapers were pravda (truth) and izvestiya (news) - pravda was the paper of the communist party, and izvestiya was the paper of the government.
the newspapers were used to promote the party agenda, and high readership was encouraged by making the papers very cheap, and widely available. they often reported on production meeting or exceeding expected targets for the economic plan of the day (this was particularly true under stalin during the push to industrialise). there would also often be reports on the advance of soviet technology and expeditions, such as soviet explorers flying over the north pole.
prohibited topics, or those that commonly received delayed reporting, included plane crashes and natural disasters. eg in july 1972 there was a vast fire outside moscow, that took 1 month to be explained by the press.
a disaster at kyshtym in 1957 where a nuclear waste tank exploded was simply never reported on. this resulted in around 200 deaths and hundreds of thousands being exposed to dangerous radiation levels.
local newspapers could publish views critical of the authorities, although there were limits on what was permissible. eg criticising minor bureaucrats or the housing situation was allowed, while criticism of party leaders was not.
how were magazines utilised by the state?
vast selection of magazines and journals were available to cater to an ever-increasing range of interests. many of these were aimed at specific groups of worers, eg farmers, soldiers or teachers. others were aimed at children, or those with a particular hobby. some areas were off limits; sex, crime and religion were not included as topics in magazines.
how was radio utilised by the state?
in 1917 radio was quite a recent development, and as a result was much easier for the bolsheviks to manipulate; there was no history of independent radio activity as there was with other forms of media. details of the revolution were broadcast in morse code, and by 1921 voice radio was being utilised.
in order to get political messgaes out, loudspeakers were installed in public places. radio was centralised though the commissariat for posts and telegraph. the government recognised the usefulness of this form of media, so it was invested in heavily and by 1922 moscow had a well developed broadcasting station. messages were often broadcast alongside classical music, to make them more palatable.
radio was also especially useful in the early days of the revolution, as messages could be broadcast to the 65% of the population who were illiterate.
apartment blocks were wired with radio reception. under brezhnev the selection of stations available to the soviet population increased from 1 to 3. one addition was a station that played foreign music (this was popular with the soviet youth).
the government attempted to restrict access to stations from other countries by mass producing cheap radios with little reception range, and threatening the arrests of people who listened to america today or the BBC, although these threats never amounted to much.
how was TV utilised by the state?
TV became a more important resource in spreading messgaes in the latter years of the USSR. in 1950 there were only around 10,000 TVs in the country. by 1958 this had risen to around 3 million. the 1960s lowered their price to be reasonable for most of the population and by the 1980s almost all of the rural population had access to a TV. much of the TV coverage was news and documentaries on the achievements of socialism and failures of capitalism. this failed to spark much enthusiasm in the population and by the 1980s the coverage had moved towards light entertainment.
there was also broadcast of local programming for regions of the USSR, often in the local languages of the region.
what were the results of the control over the media?
censorship was very widely used in soviet media, but it was not always successful. the public became used to reading between the lines. eg if there was news that a politician had a heart problem, this would be interpreted as a fall from favour. the same was true if a prominent figure was consistently not appearing in the news.
in 1953, subscribers to the soviet encyclopedia were instructed to remove the pages detailing the life of beria, and to replace them with an insert containing info on the bering sea. this was the first sign to the public that beria had been arrested.
restriction of info also became far more difficult in the 80s due to the spread of info technology like computers. technologies like these made censorship essentially impossible, however a steady flow of propaganda was used throughout the lifespan of the USSR.
what was the cult of personality in the USSR?
a COP was used to reinforce the power of individual leaders and detach the from the collective leadership that was in theory exercised by the poliburo. thus as individual leaders wanted to raise their power and status above that of their colleagues, the COP was a useful tool.
two COPs emerged in the late 20s and early 30s. there was lenin being posthumously being hailed as the hero of the revlution; pictures of him could be seen across the country. the use of this COP was to supply the government with goodwill from the public, as there was a wave of support for lenin at the time of his death. this cult of lenin persisted in all subsequent leaders, as a way of them demonstrating their supposed alleigance to the original goals of the revolution.
the cult of stalin also emerged in the 30s; stalin actively promoted himself as a the worthy defender of the work of lenin.
what were the features of the cult of stalin?
-links established between lenin and stalin, in areas where none existed; S presented as L’s closest colleague. in 1924 the slogan “stalin is the lenin of today” began to be widely used in party leadership
-trotsky removed from photos
-in the 30s, images of stalin were used, presenting him as a godlike figure; he was portrayed as a inspirational defender of socialism. many of the pictures depicted stalin with children; large part of his COP involved him being a sort of father figure.
-commonly depicted in military uniform during WW2
-stalin’s early life was often embellished or outright fictional in biographies. eg s happy family life was invented, while in reality he referred to his mother as the “old whore”. his family home in georgia was turned into a shrine.
-records of stalin’s speeches were quickly dispatched to the most remote corners of the ussr
-statues of stalin were prominent in most towns and cities - presented him as far taller than he really was.
as stalin’s rule progressed, his COP became increasingly ficticious; there were reports of government officials not recognising stalin in person due to how differently he was presented in statues, pictures etc
the COP was not entirely manufactured - there was genuine goodwill toward stalin from the soviet public, especially during and after WW2 when strong nationalist rhetoric was instilled.
what were the features of the cult of khrushchev?
-K had condemned the COP of stalin, as a monstrous glorification of a cruel leader. however this criticism had political uses for K himself, as it allowed him to push for his policy of de-stalinisation.
-COP allowed K to be seen as the most important party leader after he had originally shared leadership from 1953-56.
-using a loose COP suited his leadership style - he met soviet citizens much more regularly than stalin. visits to peasants on collectives were much good photo opportunities.
-over the course of his leadership, these photos developed into articles, books and posters praising K. he used these methods for self-publicity grew more prominent as his failures in policy became obvious.
dispite this the scale of K’s cult was never anywhere near the scale of stalin’s.
what were the features of the cult of brezhnev?
brezhnev’s COP centred around his victory from the power struggle in 1964; focus on the idea of “first among equals”. however B’s COP differed to the previous leaders, bc his COP was less a way of securing power, but rather a substitute for it. B was content with being a popular leader and appearing to be powerful without exercising nearly as much personal power as his predecessors.
B also awarded himself at least 100 medals of highly questionable legitimacy. this was commonly joked about among the soviet public; however B was not affected by this: “if they are poking fun at me, it means they like me”
B’s COP became more practical after 1975 when B’s health rapidly deteriorated. one historian claims that for the last 6 years of his life B was clinically dead. the COP served as an image of a strong leadership when the reality was very different.
what purpose did COPs serve for the party?
useful to have one figurehead for unity and loyalty, especially during difficult periods in five year plans and in times of war. COPs provided a human face for socialism - was especially useful given that socialism was an abstract concept for much of the poorly educated public. it also filled a gap that was left by restrictions on religious worship.
how was the russian orthodox church a threat to the revolution?
Bs saw religious institutions as a threat to spread of socialist ideology; seen as an alternative ideology to marxism. christian values of individualism contrasted with socialist emphasis on collectivism.
power and influence of church also posed serious threat to the power of the Bs, especially in more remote regions. church had historical ties to the tsarist regime - ideological basis to oppose it
what were the measures introduced to limit the power of the orthodox church?
-1918 - decree on freedom of conscience separated the church from the state and it lost its privileged status. lost land w/o compensation, religious education outside the home banned
-large number of churches destroyed/converted. all monasteries closed, head of church placed under house arrest in 1918
-during famine of civil war, attacks on church increasd, valuable objects seized to pay for food supplies. priests were denied the vote and rations, and were victims of red terror of 1921-22.
-league of the militant godless established established as propaganda campaign against religion. launched events to disprove existence of god, eg taking peasants for plane rides to show them that heaven was not in the sky.
-religious rituals attacked - campaign to replace baptisms with “octoberings” and new names like “ninel” (lenin backwards) were encouraged for children.
despite these measures, and the fact that 80% of churches were no longer in use or destroyed by 1930, 55% of the peasantry were still active christians around the same time.
what were the changes to religious policy under stalin?
campaign of religious repression accompanied S’s policy of collectivisation. more churches were closed, village priests were labelled as kulaks and deported.
after the german invasion in 1941 policy changed - the church supported the war effort, so there was a liberalisation and accommodation between the church and the state. some churches were reopened, and there was acknowledgement that religion could help sustain morale during the war.
what was khrushchev’s attitude towards religion?
K was fervently anti-religious - followed stalin’s initial policy of active repression, beginning in 1958. role of priests was reduced to one of spiritual advice only, 10000 churches were closed. party officials became involved in parish councils and many priests were removed from them. baptists and jews also suffered major restrictions on their right to worship.
what was brezhnev’s attitude towards religion?
B significantly relaxed the state’s policy towards religion - he was aware that restrictions on religion damaged international relations which he was attempting to promote.
the govt used the council of religious affairs to monitor religion - the orthodox church was expected to adhere to socialist social policy, such as help for the poor.
however, religion was not completely free - in 1976 the committee for defence of believers’ rights was set up by orthodox priests - the leader of this organisation was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment.
other religious groups like jews and baptists, who were more likely to be critical of the government, were treated with less tolerance. preaching was restricted, prayer meetings were disbanded, and members were dismissed from their jobs. however unregistered congregations continued to meet and distribute prayer books.
what was the influence of islam in the USSR and how was it controlled?
majority of soviet population were orthadox christian, but there was a significant minority, especially in central asia, which was muslim. this was more of an issue for the bolsheviks as islam was more ingrained into a distinct way of life, and deeply integrated into its communities. Bs feared that the links of islam with national minority may threaten the social cohesion of the state, and potentially spark independence movements. initally the Bs made little attempt to reduce the influence of sharia law. it was not until the mid 20s that the govt felt confident enough to attack islamic institutions and rituals.
these restrictions included:
-religious endowments of land prohibited making upkeep of mosques more difficult
-most mosques closed down
-sharia courts phased out
-mullahs (islamic clerics/mosque leaders) were removed as part of collectivisation, often had to admit to being “deceivers of the people”
-campaign against veiling of women began on international women’s day 1927 when huge crowds of women gathered to remove their veils, and cast them into a bonfire
-ramandan fasting condemned as interference with work
-polygamy prohibited on the grounds of its subjection of women
what was the result of the attacks on islam?
resulted in a series of violent revolts in 1928-29 - chechens of southern russia were particularly active. revolts crushed with the red army.
aside from obvious revolts, many muslims attempted to observe obedience to the state in public while retaining islamic customs in private.
some joined underground brotherhoods known as tariqat to continue the fight for islamic rights.
what were the results of soviet religious policy in general?
the numbers engaged in active worship reduced considerabke. govt survey in the 80s found that only 25% of the population believed in god. far fewer were engaged in any form of obvious religious worship. the influence of religious institutions had also reduced, however those who remained faithful had their religious commitment intensified due to the government measures.
how were government opponents attacked under different leaders?
lenin established the cheka under dzerzhinsky. its role was to act against CRs and sabotage. during the civil war it was allowed to carry out this task with minimal interference from other bodies. attempted assassination of lenin in 1918 prompted a wave of arrests. the cheka intensified its actions towards mensheviks and other SRs in 1921, during the red terror; up to 200k opponents were shot - execution was now the rule rather than the exception.
after the civil war the SP was reorganised - the cheka turned into the GPU, then the OGPU. the significance of this was its growing independence from other institutions. it was now an insitution that would only take orders and instructions from the leadership of the CCCP. the body’s power increased further in 1934 when the OGPU became the NKVD - this was the combination of the SP with an interior ministry.
stalin’s rapid industrialisation process highlighted many more targets for the NKVD; as a result a wave of arrests and deportations occured during the initial wave of five year plans.
the NKVD’s role further increased in the trials of the 16, 17 and 21 in the late 30s.
many arrests from the NKVD led to prisoners being taken to the lubyanka building, where they would be tortured until they confessed. for high-profile prisoners, a show trial would follow where the prisoner would confess to their crimes before being sentenced to death. part of the deal with the prisoner was that this confession would ensure the victim of their family, although this promise was not always kept.
what was the role and actions of yagoda?
yagoda became head of the NKVD in 1934. keen to prove his loyalty to S; this along with personal ambitions led to his attempt to build up his own empire. his actions included:
-massive expansion of the gulag system. transformed into mass system of forced labour to speed up industrialisation.
-yagoda’s influence meant that opponents could be dealt with without interference from regular courts.
-emphasis changed from ideology to economic considerations. gulags became a pool of labour used to exploit the economic resources of the land, where no one would live of their own free will. living conditions were brutal in gulags; many would die of extreme cold or starvation.
-one of yagoda’s “achievements” was the construction of the white sea canal - this was done with 180k gulag labourers digging by hand under budget in 2 years, at the cost of around 10,000 lives. to cut costs the canal was only 12 feet deep - making it useless for most shipping.
-yagoda’s role became more prominent in the great terror of 1936 and the trials of the 16, 17 and 21. inevitably, yagoda himself became incriminated and was accused of incompetence in safeguarding kirov, and not pursuing opposition with sufficient enthusiasm. he was removed from post and stalin had him shot in 1938.
what was the role and actions of yezhov?
replacement for yagoda. rumoured to have enthusiasm for personally torturing suspects. he was only 5 feet tall - gained him the nickname “the bloody dwarf”. under yezhov the most excessive phase of purges took place.
-process of arrest/trial/imprisonment was sped up - “troikas” - special courts, were created, which comprised of the local NKVD boss and just 2 other people to deal with cases. the branch in karelia processed around 230 prisoners each day.
-considered gulags to be underused - number of prisoners dramatically increased. death quotas were also issued for numbers of executions in gulags.
-surveilance of general public increased. plain clothes officiers, informers from the public, etc
-group of people considered opponents of the state was widened to simply those who did not demonstrate enough committment to the revolutionary cause. this essentially allowed the NKVD to arrest people arbitrarily. this extended to many members of the NKVD itself.
yezhov was becoming a concern to stalin by 1938, due to the level of terror demoralising the population at a time when invasion was looming. as a result stalin dismissed him due to excessive drinking, as well as blaming him for the excesses of the purges - this certainly carried some truth, but also suited stalin to have a scapegoat for the purges.
what was the role and actions of beria?
successor to yezhov. very cunning and tactial compared to maniacal violence of his predecessor; beria had briefed stalin with criticisms of yezhov to ensure his removal from post and replacement with beria himself. he was also known for paedophilia by other members of the party.
-beria’s appointment was met with relief from the public - he reintroduced more conventional methods of policing, eg removal of indiscriminate arrests, only holding trials where there was solid evidence, etc.
-use of surveilance continued, but was only utillised with sufficient evidence
-reach of the SP arguably increased. beria oversaw the murder of trotsky at the hands of a soviet agent in mexico in 1940.
-focus on productivity extended to the gulag. food rations were increased; this was likely due to productivity concerns rather than moral reasons.
-technical skills of inmates was utilised; 1000 scientists put to work, which reportedly produced many new pieces of military technology. sergei korolev was a gulag inmate and provided an essential role in the development of the soviet space programme.
-early releases from gulags were cencelled so prisoners’ expertise could be further used.
-result of these measures was economic activity of gulags going from 2b roubles in 1937, to 4.5b roubles in the early 50s. major contributor to the soviet economy - 1/3 of gold and lots of timber/coal came from the gulag system.
what changes were made to the role of the secret police during WW2?
-powers of SP were extended in the war
-1941 - given some supervision over the red army, dealt with desertions and disloyalty
-given control over deportations of members of national minorities whose committment to the state was dubious - this included lots of chechens. process overseen by troikas (3-person courts) which were given powers outside normal law.
-by 1943 the RA had managed to recupture areas that had been previously occupied by the germans. in these areas the SP set up special departments to root out traitors; anyone suspected of cooperating with germans was shot or deported to a gulag.
-soviet troops who had surrended to german forces were considered traitorous. returning prisoners of war were automatically held in detention camps run by the SP. some were used to clear minefields, by walking through areas where mines had been layed by the enemy.
what were the signs that beria may have been removed by stalin after WW2?
following the war stalin’s health began to obviously deteriorate. this resulted in a growing rivalry among other party officials, concerning who his successor would be. beria saw this as an opportunity to launch a new wave of purges to gain stalin’s favour. one target was the leningrad (st petersburg) branch of the party, where around 2000 members were imprisoned for disloyalty.
however there is evidence that stalin was plotting against beria.
mingrelian affair 1951 - this was a purge of the party in georgia, particularly of mingrelians, an ethnicity to which beria belonged. arguably was a warning to beria.
there is evidence that stalin was plotting another purge before his death - the doctor’s plot - this was where doctors (often jewish) were arrested for conspiring to murder stalin. this could have been a the start of an anti-jewish campagin, but it is more likely that it was an attempt to scapegoat beria and have him removed from post. however stalin died before this plan could be completed, so its intentions are ultimately unknown.
