Hey, i did my HSC last year, so don't care who gets my notes, sorry all the dot points have disappeared and i have just copied whole slabs of my notes so some may be irrelevant. Use as u please, pm me if you want any other dot points.
(1) The transformation of Soviet social and cultural life under Stalin and the (2)development of the cult of the personality.
(1) Alan Wood Debate took place in/outside the party with diversity unequalled til the ’80s. Artists-scientists combined to make the 1920s one of the most vibrant, pulsating decades in Russian Culture.
Writers and artists were censored. Products had to be submitted to a series of committees before they could be published.
Artists had to produce works which glorified Stalin and the Soviet Workers ‘Socialist Realism’ In novels this meant the heroes had to be normal workers helping to build the new soviet society. Virtues of the ordinary worker were stressed with a focus on class struggle
Work other than this was Bougeois. If someone’s work was stated to be in this category it would not be published, could lose their livelihood or if they went too far and were critical of Stalin could end up in a Labour camp.
‘Life is getting better, more joyful’ campaign – meanwhile housing overcrowded, rationing introduced, prices rocketed and wages didn’t keep up
Education: 1920s old forms of discipline and exams were abolished but this created unruly uneducated children. In 1932 a rigid education program was introduced. History was particularly important and as the ‘30s went on it was rewritten to suit Stalin. As the old Communists were purged their pictures were pasted out of text books. In A short History of the USSR Stalin gave himself a more important role in the Revolution. Children were taught to learn not for themselves but for an educated socialist society.
Outside school the children were taught political ideas through camps, sport etc.
Strong leaders such as Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible were depicted as national heroes
Church: Orthodox Church was basically abolished and many bishops were arrested. Members of religious groups, particularly Baptists were arrested and sent to labour camps. The League of the Godless smashed churches and burnt religious icons. The state took over church-land. The League of Militant Atheists was established in ’24 and had over 5million members by ’30s.
Labour was marshalled against their will, however for the ‘benefit’ of the country Stalin increased his standing in their hearts.
Stakhanovites emerged as a group of people the youth looked up to, shock brigades and industrial spies all ensured the work ethos was the dominant social philosophy
Free will and personal expression gave way to the ‘common good’
Initially changes revolutionary but by the ’30s conservatism again the dominant force
(2) Stalin did not allow his name to be involved in anything that went wrong in Soviet Society, he always blamed things on people well below him
Glorified as an almost god-like figure
Huge parades, films, statues and paintings all proclaimed the good fortune of the Soviet people for having Stalin as their leader
Stalin removed all of his opposition or anyone that could possibly denounce him, he took them out of photographs and official history
Towns and cities were named after him (i.e Stalingrad, Stalinsk)
Children taught to thank Stalin for their happy upbringing as they rose from their meals
Stalin Called ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Shining sun of humanity’ ‘Universal Genius’ ‘Iron Soldier’
(1)Cult of the Personality and (2)Stalinism as Totalitarianism
(1) The unquestioning adulation directed at Stalin
Outside the party the citizens had learnt to associate Stalin with all that was right and beneficial for the Soviet Union
(2) Based on Marxism/Leninism sought to embrace all areas of life
Communist Party led by Stalin
Secret Police control applied in the 1930s
All means of effective communication controlled by the regime
Regime controlled all weapons
Economic structure under state control from late 1920s
Opposition to Stalin was not tolerated
However, limits of Distance and communication did apply reducing this from becoming complete