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Propaganda and the Arts

Page history last edited by Jonathan Buckley 14 years, 2 months ago

Question:

How did the Bolsheviks use propaganda and the arts to strengthen their regime between 1918 and 1924?

Instructions:

  • No introduction or conclusion
  • One post only under the correct heading
  • One sentence only - make your sentence count (detail)
  • Write in full sentences  

 

 

Propaganda

During the Civil War, propaganda was a key weapon in the defeat of the Whites.  Lenin and the Bolsheviks organised picture propaganda to overcome the problem of illiteracy in Russia.  The Reds' message itself also had an impact.  They accused the Whites of being in league with foreign interventionists, therefore taking away their support.

 

The May Day Parades which started in 1920 and which were held on the 1st of May (Labour holiday), glorified both the Soviet Worker and the Soviet Government . (chole)  The anniversary of the Revolution was also celebrated every year - in 1920 a cast of 8000 reenacted it in a dramatic public spectacle. (Mark)

 

The Bolshevik's had a very strong influence in the newspaper "Pravda" which was edited by lenin's sister and a member of the Politburo, Bukharin. This paper then published items that were very much in favour of the Bolshevik way.  Militant slogans and denunciation of class enemies appeared regularly in the paper.(Scott McBride)  "Pravda", became very influentual for the people of Russia. It was written in a simpler style to attract workers and peasants who, because of considerable illiteracy, did not have a good reading ability.  Access to Pravda was also a necessity for Party members.

 

To spread their propaganda, “agit-trains” were sent throughout Russia with pamphlets and even films to assimilate the peasants. These trains were especially effective because they used films which fascinated the peasants and showed Lenin in the best light possible so he gained more support from the peasants of Russia/USSR. (Michaela Quinn)

 

The Bolsheviks used forms of censorship. This meant that the press, theatre performances, films and literature could be were tightly scrutinised.(Adam "Grand Soverign General" Burns)

 

Teenagers were channeled into the Communist Union of Youth of Russia which was founded in November 1917. In 1920 there were over 400,000 members Became a vehicle for pro-Communist propaganda. (Minister for Propaganda Dr Jamie Best)

 

The arts

The arts were a necessary component of the Communist project. The Bolsheviks saw the arts as playing an important role in the creation of a truly Communist society; a progressive, 'proletarian' art could educate the masses, weaning them from older, entrenched mentalities and allowing them to embrace Communism. "At this point the Bolsheviks were convinced that the values inherent in science and the arts were congenial to the principles of socialism. Culture was to be a helpmate in the building of socialism" (Kenez 65). In Literature and Revolution, Trotsky expressed a desire to utilize art as an educational tool.  The arts could also communicate the ethos of the revolution to the masses in a way that could be understood and internalized, allowing the artist to "pull the republic out of the mud" (Mayakovsky 149). Using mass production, agitprop posters with a modernist aesthetic served a utilitarian purpose. Renowned artists such as Mayakovsky, Rotchinko, and Dmitri Moore made pieces to be posted in Rosta windows, where they were easily visible to the masses. Graeme laverty

 

All the arts (literature, music, theatre, art architecture etc) were to reflect the achievements of Bolshevik Russia,and therefore of communism (Mein Fuhrer Jonny Buckley)

 

The Bolsheviks established a Ministry of Culture as a way of increasing Government control for the arts (Gary Law)

 

The Bolsheviks set up a organisation called the State Publishing Organisation (Gosizdat) to gain a large amount of control over artist and writers during the civil war. This organisation continued to be used after the civil war to enforce strict policies on what writers and artist could publish. (stuart) 

 

Poets and writers such as Mayakovsky and Yevreinov were so called the pro-Bolshevik poets. Majakovski included slogans for political campaigns and Yevreinov wrote "The Reenacment of the storming of the Winter Palace" to celebrate 3rd anniversary of the October Revolution. There were also poets who were not communists however they were in sympathy with the ideals of the revolution, they were known as th Fellow Travelers. (Dawid Stanczak :D xoxoxoxox........). One example of a Fellow Traveller was Mikhail Sholokhov the author of the famous book on the Russian Civil War called "Quiet Flows the Don" (Sarah)

 

 

The Cinema was extensively used by the Bolsheviks as a propaganda tool. Lenin felt that cinema was the most important of all the "Arts" and because of this the Soviet cinema in the 1920s was popular for propaganda. The key figure in Russian cinema at that time was Sergei Eisenstein. The majority of his work wasnt released until after Lenin's death. (Joshua Thornbury)

 Shostakovich was one of the most famour composers in the 1920, but most of his famous work, he produced to glorify the Soviet State and the October Revolution wasnt published until after Lenins death. (Sarah) Dmitri Shostakovich's works represented the high-water mark in Russian music at the time. Alongside Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev made up the most significant group of the country's composers in the early 20th century. Chief amongst Shostakovich's works are his symphonies and larger-scale orchestral pieces. Many of these glorify Soviet aims and celebrate their successes. Amongst these are the "Leningrad Symphony" and "The Unforgettable Year 1905". Pianist and composer Alexander Scriabin remained utterly unaffected by political proceedings and his works, much for austere and bizarre in character are completely artistic and symbolise the older musical methods. Sergei Rachmaninov, (aristocratic by birth), was appalled and devastated by the Soviet actions and moved to the USA to continue his work unrestricted by the authorities. He never totally recovered from leaving his homeland. Various other great musicians left Russia at that time also, amongst them the pianist Vladimir Horowitz. (Rt. Hon. Rev. Dr. Orly Watson M.P., M.L.A.)  

 

The arts were a necessary component of the Communist project. The Bolsheviks saw the arts as playing an important role in the creation of a truly Communist society; a progressive, 'proletarian' art could educate the masses, weaning them from older, entrenched mentalities and allowing them to embrace Communism. "At this point the Bolsheviks were convinced that the values inherent in science and the arts were congenial to the principles of socialism. Culture was to be a helpmate in the building of socialism" (Kenez 65). In Literature and Revolution, Trotsky expressed a desire to utilize art as an educational tool. As the proletariat was entrenched in bourgeois tastes and values, it was the task of artists to provide a form of aesthetics that placed an emphasis on the simplicity and modernity that were connected to proletarian society. Such art could also communicate the ethos of the revolution to the masses in a way that could be understood and internalized, allowing the artist to "pull the republic out of the mud" (Mayakovsky 149). One of the most successful ways in which this art was brought to the masses was through the poster. Using mass production, agitprop posters with a modernist aesthetic served a utilitarian purpose. Renowned artists such as Mayakovsky, Rotchinko, and Dmitri Moore made pieces to be posted in Rosta windows, where they were easily visible to the masses. Their simple, graphic style was designed to communicate the revolution and its values to even the illiterate. Graeme laverty yeooo

 

Lenin's tastes in art, architecture, literature and music were quite conservative and he was quite prepared to accept styles that had been in fashion before the Bolshevik Revolution. Lenin had more important goals than the arts, these were to win the Civil War and to create a socialist economy - arts was not a priority for him in strengthening his party's power in Russia. (Matthew H)

Comments (1)

Catherine Bell said

at 4:14 pm on Nov 15, 2009

The Bolsheviks aimed to create a Marxist Culture and Lenin did this through many ways, they had full control over all aspects of the "arts" such as literature, music, theatre etc and they wanted to have their message passed to the people in the most effective way so they support them. all propaganda was the key way to tell the people through all forms of lenins aim and what he wanted and because he had such a hold over them all figures in the arts even those who were communist had to be carefull what they wanted to produce and what the government would want them to produce. They couldn't afford to go against them.

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