CCEA A-Level History 4010
England 1509–58AS Unit 1
England 1603–49AS Unit 1
Britain in the Age of Reform 1830–80AS Unit 1
Italy and Germany 1815–71AS Unit 1
Germany 1919–45AS Unit 1
Spain and Europe 1556–98AS Unit 2
The Ascendancy of France in Europe 1660–1714AS Unit 2
Ireland 1823–67AS Unit 2
France 1815–70AS Unit 2
Russia 1914–41AS Unit 2
Italy's Quest for Great Power Status 1871–1943AS Unit 2
Crown and Parliament in England 1625–1714A2 Unit 1
Ireland Under the Union 1800–1900A2 Unit 1
The Causes and Consequences of Great Power Conflict 1848–1945A2 Unit 1
The American Presidency 1901–2000A2 Unit 1
Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000A2 Unit 1
England 1558–1603A2 Unit 2
Ireland 1685–1714A2 Unit 2
Ireland 1778–1803A2 Unit 2
Partition of Ireland 1900–25A2 Unit 2
Russia 1914–41
Culture, propaganda and the cult of personality
- 3 things to know
- AS Unit 2
Overview
Socialist realism, cult of personality and short Course.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
When was socialist realism imposed on writers?
Which writer lent his prestige to the new doctrine?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is socialist realism?
Model answer
Socialist realism was the official artistic doctrine which required art to be simple, optimistic and heroic, showing Soviet life as it was becoming rather than as it was.
- 2
When was socialist realism imposed on writers?
Model answer
Socialist realism was proclaimed at the first congress of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1934, and membership of the Union became the condition of being published at all.
- 3
Which writer lent his prestige to the new doctrine?
Model answer
Maxim Gorky presided over the writers' congress and gave socialist realism the authority of Russia's most celebrated living author.
- 4
What happened to Shostakovich in 1936?
Model answer
An unsigned article in Pravda condemned Shostakovich's opera as muddle instead of music, and the composer withdrew his next symphony rather than risk arrest.
- 5
How was film used by the Stalinist regime?
Model answer
Film was treated as the most powerful of all propaganda media, with historical epics presenting earlier Russian rulers as forerunners of Stalin and mobile projectors taking them out to the villages.
- 6
What is meant by the cult of personality?
Model answer
The cult of personality was the presentation of Stalin as an all-wise leader and father of the peoples, through statues, portraits, poetry, films and the renaming of cities in his honour.
Other ways to work this
The same content, four other ways.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Every question in Russia 1914–41, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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