Control of Media, Religion, and the Secret Police in the USSR

Flashcards about media control and the secret police in the USSR under Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev.

What was the Decree on the Press in November 1917?

A decree that gave the government emergency powers to close newspapers supporting counter-revolution.

What was the Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press established in January 1918?

An organization with the power to censor the press and punish journalists for 'crimes against the state'.

How did the control of the press change under war communism?

Increased significantly during war communism due to government control over printing presses and paper.

What was Pravda?

The newspaper of the Communist Party and an organ of the Communist Party.

What role did Glavlit play in 1922?

Oversaw censorship, employing professional censors to investigate books for anti-communist sentiments.

What happened to the works of certain political figures during the mid-1930s under Stalin?

Works by Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky, and others were removed from Soviet libraries.

What types of stories were Soviet media forbidden from publishing?

Stories about natural disasters, suicides, industrial accidents, bad weather.

What does 'The worker and the collective farm woman/kolkhoz' show?

Focused on archetypal Soviet workers, exemplifying socialist realism art.

made of stainless steel and 80 ft tall (very very tall and towering)

1937

What was the 'Myth of Two Leaders'?

Led Soviet people to believe that the October Revolution and other key events were masterminded by Stalin and Lenin.

What did Gustav Klutsis' photomontages imply?

Implied Stalin was the legitimate successor to Marx and Lenin.

What does 'vozhd' mean?

Leader

From 1945, what role of Stalin's became the focus of propaganda?

his role as generalissmo

Became the center of Soviet propaganda, portraying him as a military genius.

What was Rabonitsa ('the woman worker')?

A women's magazine for venting problems and complaining about quality of life.

What was 'Krokodil' newspaper?

A satirical magazine, that was Khrushchev's media response to worthless, lazy men

What did films under Khrushchev focus on? give an eg

Focused on the role of ordinary people, especially during WWII.

EG: ‘The Cranes are Flying’(1957)

instead if acheivemnets of stalin

What was significant about the 1961 five-hour long program?

Celebrated Yuri Gagarin's journey into space and the Soviet Union's achievements in the space race; millions watched this broadcast, marking a significant moment of national pride and technological achievement.

What slogan revived the cult of Lenin in the 1950s?

The slogan 'Lenin Lives!'

How was Khrushchev portrayed in his personality cult?

Disciple of Lenin, responsible for the Soviet space race and VLS, hero of WWII, and a reformer.

How did the Soviet government control news about the Afghanistan War (1979-89)?

The Soviet government kept the scale and horrors hidden through tight control and censorship.

Why was the Soviet Union losing control of print media under Brezhnev?

Increasingly losing control as Western magazines became available on the black market,( like vogue) revealing differences in the quality of life.

Why did Brezhnev establish a personality cult?

He felt obliged to adopt one to consolidate his position and stabilize the regime.

but the idea/notion of a personality cult was a much smaller affair post 1963, but the presence of one still under khrushchev and brezhnev showed that it was now well esatblished as an essential feature of soviet politics

How did Brezhnev heighten his personality cult as a 'military hero'?

Promoted himself to Marshal of the Red Army and received 60 medals.

also: he useda series of public festivals to construct his image→ eg: 50th anniversary of the october rev in 1967, he gave lots of speeches and took lots of photos

What did the October 1917 Decree on Land state?

Peasants had the right to seize land belonging to the church.

What were the key provisions of the January 1918 Decree Concerning the Separation of Church and State?

Church lost privileges, land was nationalized, and religious education in schools was banned.

Why was terror used against the Orthodox priests?

To undermine the church, which was seen as an enemy of the revolution.

What did the Politburo's secret order to the Cheka in November 1918 do?

Sanctioned the mass executions of priests.

How did the communist initially apply the ‘Decree Concerning the Separation of Church from State’ to islam

Seizing property of Waqfs, BUT this was soon reversed.

What was the Living Church?

A reformed version of the Orthodox Church aided by the GPU.

How did communists destroy islamic orgs?

Closing mosques, attacking shrines and opening anti-islamic museums .

What was Stalin's policy towards churches during collectivization (1928-30s)?

Ordered the closing of many churches as they were 'aiding resistance to his policies'.

How did Stalin use the Great Terror against ethnic and religious groups?

Set targets for purging people from different ethnic groups and religious minorities.

What happened to Sufi groups by the end of 1936?

Eliminated/purged.

How did Stalin's policy towards the church change during 1941-45?

Made a pragmatic alliance with the church, ending anti-religious propaganda.

What was Khrushchev's mission regarding religion?

Revive the anti-religious campaign of the 1920s and liberate Soviet society from religion.

What actions were included in Khrushchev's anti-religious campaign starting in 1958?

Closing churches, reintroducing anti-religious magazines, and using the space program to promote atheism.

What did Yuri Gagarin famously say about religion?

That having “travelled up to the heavens” he had “found no God”

How did Brezhnev modify Khrushchev's approach to religion/diverge from his overt campaign against religion?

Stopped propaganda and closing of churches.

How did Brezhnev change the approach to combatting religion?

Advocated for spreading atheism rather than attacking religion.

How did Brezhnev change his foreign policy approach to islam?

Started to support anti-American Islamic groups,, from the late 1960s= soviet gov described islam as “progressive and rev” compared to previous ”backward and barbarian”

What was the importance of the Institue for Scientific Atheism and when was it opened?

1968

Advised teachers on how to spread atheism by publishimg articles etc.

What group did Cheka target?

Targetted counter-revolutionaries.

What role did the Cheka play in attacking the Kronstadt naval base?

“Supported” the Red Army's attack on the Kronstadt Naval Base.

they were ordered by lenin to stand behind the red army with machine guns and shoot anyone who retreated or refused to fight

What were common tactics of the secret police?

how many did the cheka kill roughly during the ‘red terror’?

who did the secret police imprison specifically?(think nep)

Used torture and violence against opponents.

closed down opposition newspapers

harrassed women in western style clothing

persecuted preists

imprisoned NEPMEN who had grown too rich

over 100000 opps

What did Lenin instruct Dzerzhinsky to do in 1922?

Instructed Dzerzhinsky to supervise the deportation of intellectuals and engineers that he believed were anti-comm sympathisers

What powers did the Cheka have?

Intercept post and other forms of communication to spy on suspected people

What was Dzerzhinsky instructed to supervise in 1922?

Supervised the deportation of professors and intellectuals he believed were anti-communist sympathisers.

How did Yagoda disappoint stalin?

He helped Stalin turn the NKVD against the Communist Party.

How did Stalin accelerate the terror during the Yezhovshchina?

Set quotas for arrests, executions, and deportations.

Who was the group most targetted during Yezhovshchina?

what percentage of those targetted were men?

The groups seen as most likely to oppose Stalin.

in particular, this was urban educated men 30-45 years old,esp holding senior positions in gov

95% of all those targetted were men

What was the impact of the Great Terror on the economy?

The Great Terror had a detrimental impact on the Soviet economy. The removal of experienced managers, specialists, and party members through purges led to disruptions in production and planning. Production rates in various sectors either declined or stagnated due to the loss of skilled labor and the climate of fear that stifled initiative and efficiency.

What act did Beria help with?

Helped murder Trotsky in Mexico in 1940.

How did Stalin launch the Leningrad Affair, and what was his reasoning?

Stalin launched the Leningrad Affair as a political purge against party officials in the Leningrad branch, claiming they were becoming too independent. This was motivated by Stalin's paranoia and desire to eliminate potential rivals and consolidate his power by falsely accusing them of disloyalty and forming anti-Soviet groups.

How did Khrushchev change the use of the secret police?

Khrushchev ended the widespread terror tactics employed by Stalin, reducing the secret police's influence. He shifted from mass repressions to more targeted methods, releasing political prisoners and curbing the power of the secret police.

What did Brezhnev do to the KGB 1967-70?

Reformed the KGB to increase efficiency and discipline.

he promoted KGB members based on their success at delaying dissidents

they wern’t allowed to accept any gifts

if their relatives broke the law=they were sacked

how many were arrested during the period of ‘yezhovshchina’?

how many were excecuted?

how many from the central committee were killed?

70% of the central committee= killed

around 1.5 mill(around 10% of male adult pop)= arrested by NKVD--> over 680,000 were executed 

did brezhnev’s efforts towards religion reduce the number of religious people? how do we know this?

no.

from 1960-85 the number of people that professed a religious faith remained stable at 20%