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Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41

Propaganda and censorship, 1924–41

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

Socialist realism and the fate of artists who ignored it, rewritten history, obedience taught in schools and youth movements, the attack on religion, control of the press and Pravda, and the 1936 Constitution's promises.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What was socialist realism?

Key term

How was religion attacked in Stalin's Soviet Union?

Key term

How was the press controlled in Stalin's Soviet Union?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was socialist realism?

    Model answer

    The official artistic style, in which paintings, novels and films had to show workers, peasants and soldiers as heroes building a happy socialist future.

  2. 2

    What happened to writers and artists who ignored the official style?

    Model answer

    Their work was banned and they could lose their living, be thrown out of the writers' union or be arrested.

  3. 3

    How was history taught in Soviet schools?

    Model answer

    It was rewritten to glorify Stalin and the revolution, and anyone who fell from favour was cut out of the textbooks and even out of photographs.

  4. 4

    How was religion attacked?

    Model answer

    Churches and mosques were shut or turned into stores and clubs, priests were arrested, and atheism was taught in schools and pushed by the League of the Godless.

  5. 5

    Why did the state treat religion as a threat?

    Model answer

    It gave people beliefs and loyalties the party could not control, and Communists held that it taught the poor to accept their lot.

  6. 6

    How was the press controlled?

    Model answer

    Every book, film and newspaper needed official approval before it appeared, foreign news was kept out, and Pravda printed only what the party wanted believed.

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