CULTURE UNDER LENIN

Since when had the emancipation of women been a goal for russian radicals?

middle of the nineteenth century

What was the view of radical Bolsheviks on the family?

outdated institution wich deserved to be swept away

What were youths encouraged to do in regards to parents?

attack the capitalist tyranny of parents

What did party sections educate women on?

how to be more assertive and independence

What were wives encouraged to do in regards to husbands?

refuse obedience

Who was a prevelant female Bolshevik?

Alexandra Kollontai

What was the radical Bolshevik view on sex?

greater sexual freedom, casual sex, free love

What was the view on sex for conservative bolsheviks such as Lenin?

impose a more constrained attitude

What physical attempts were made to remould the family?

communal spaces in housing blocks and communal living by several families

What did the Bolshevik’s family code of 1918 do?

divorce easier, abortion legalised, creches encouraged

Why did reforms towards women occur?

the need for women to work during the civil war

What was the russian abortion rate like by the mid 1920s?

the highest in Europe

What did the rise in divorce rates cause?

financial insecurity, fatjers didn’t pay child support, exerbated by the struggle to get equal rights in employment and an equal wage

Where was there restraint towards the rights of women in central Asia?

muslim areas, polygamous male-dominated families

What was the status of women like in politics?

a small percentage, but still higher than pre revolutionary levels

Why was the russian catholic church opposed?

churchprovided an alternative ideology to that of marxism

Why was the russian catholic church important?

the vast majority of russians were religious and a huge element in national identity

what did the 1918 decree on freedom of conscience do?

seperated the orthodox church from the state and the church lost it’s priviliged status, lost land, publications outlawed, religious education outside the home was banned

What was the ‘russian dissolution’?

churches destroyed and converted to other purposes, gov closed monastries end of 1918 the Patriach Tikhon was under arrest

What happened to churches over the famine of the civil war?

attacks on the church increased and valuable objects seized to pay for food

what percentage of peasants were christians by the mod 1920s?

5 percent

What was Bolshevik views towards the church over the civil war?

softened, focus was on propaganda that ridiculed religion

What bolshevik sponsored league spread misinformation?

league of the militant godless

What did the smolnesk local party branch decide about religion?

belief in god was not incompatible with party membership

What were lenin’s cultural tastes like?

conservative with a liking for classical literature, he wanted the party to keep high calibre writers and artists

What was the commissariat of enlightenment?

a ministry of culture to support and encourage artists

What did Trotsky label this new wave of artists as?

fellow travellers

What did Bogdanov believe in in regards to art?

believed a new group of proleterian artists should be assembled, this group became known as the constructivists

What new artistic movements wer gaining traction?

modernism and futurism

What happened to architecture under the Bolsheviks?

slowed down to economic struggles, garden cities and high rises came into fashion as the emphasis was on function

Why was literature a double edged sword?

both praised and condemned the Bolshevik regime

What did theatre mostly focus on?

showed workers defeating theit exploiters, 1920 there was a reenactment of the storming of the winter palace with 8,000 being involved

Why did music suffer?

many emigrated ebroad but jazz music became popular

What was radio like under the Bolsheviks?

broadcasted news of the revolution in morse code, by 1921 programmes were broadcast, by 1922 moscow had the most powerful radio station in the world

Who was in control of the radio?

the commissariat for posts and telegraph

What was cinema like under the Bolsheviks?

used to promote political messages (Lenin believed in this) escapist Amrican and german films were popular

Examples of propaganda films?

strike (1924) Battleship Potemkin (1925)

How was pop culture controlled?

state publishing organisation, GOSIZDAT

what were anniversires such as the revolution and may day used for?

instil and reinforce values of the new state