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The soviet communist party, or the Bolsheviks, always new that strong propaganda was essential to increase the consciousness of the masses. As stated in the Encyclopedia of Propaganda, " propaganda was central to Marxist-Leninist ideology long before the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. " (675) The power of persuasion and coercion were exercised with great force by Soviet leaders. The two leaders whom utilized propaganda to influence public opinion in the USSR were Vladimir Lennon and Joseph Stalin. Both men used many different facets of the media to spread their propaganda. They also used the troubled social climate along with the ignorance of the masses to custom tailor a regime that lasted for over seven decades.
The Russian Revolution was where the Bolsheviks proved that their propaganda machine worked. The Communists seized power over an empire that suffered from a progressive downfall. Russia at the time of the revolution was merely a broken down "barely functioning" version of its former self. (Encyclopedia of Propaganda, 675) A disastrous World war, a civil war, and foreign occupation opened the door for Lennon's propaganda. How did Lennon obtain power over the working class? "The working class was very suspicious of intellectuals. " (Pipes 43) Lennon did not portray himself as an intellectual.
Rather than preach politics as the intellectuals had done, Lennon opted to use agitation propaganda or "agitprop" to make the workers aware of the need for political action. He new that by showing how workers were being exploited by their employers he could gain their support. Lennon hoped that with this strategy he could ignite industrial strikes. Once these workers would strike they would surely see that the employers and the state were one of the same.
In turn the working class would arrive at the conclusion that they could not possibly improve their condition without having a strong political influence. Lennon said, "The struggle of the Russian working class for it's liberation is a political struggle, and it's goal is the attainment of political liberty. " (Pipes 45) Lennon used this form of propaganda, agitprop, to convey the need of a total reformation of Russia's government. He knew that this form of propaganda would work best. "Propaganda of agitation, being the most visible and widespread attracts all the attention. " (Ellen 71) In his agitation propaganda Lennon cited specific enemies, or scapegoats namely, The Mensheviks. Along with the Mensheviks, or "whites" as they were called, the soviets expressed outright hatred of the western world and it's ways. Soviet propagandists created the idea that the western capitalist civilization was falling behind, as the superior socialists marched forward. Soviet artists and intellectuals were ordered to create propaganda material that portrayed this idea of a weak and inferior western world.
The soviets official ideology was that they needed to gain complete control of all aspects of communication. Lennon embraced the idea of agitation propaganda that was introduced earlier by Georgi Plekhanov. Since the Soviet Union was founded in 1920 there was an official department of agitprop. This department worked directly through schools, publications and the broadcast media. (Encyclopedia of propaganda 17) Part of Lennon's strategy was keeping his ideas simple. Simple enough to be effective on a nation with widespread illiteracy. His slogan "Food, peace and land" appealed to the peasants.
Lennon's simple methods were very effective, "Nothing in the past could compare with the Communists' propaganda effort to mobilize social energy... " (Von Laue 193) The poster art of the Lennon era usually were red color, red being widely accepted as the color of socialism. The poster artists, most notably D. S. Moor, often portrayed the simple idea of good versus evil.
The good is the socialist peasants, and the bad usually being the capitalist landowners. One wartime poster urged young soviets to "Defend the freedom, the nation, and the honor fought for by farmers. " Lennon era Bolshevik propaganda also utilized film and theater. The Soviet state gained control of the film industry immediately following the revolution, however it took a decade or so for the new authorities to impose their strict supervision over it. The Bolsheviks banned opposition in the press and eliminated free speech, then set it's sights to control cinematography (Shlapentokh 39) The major theme of the revolution era films was the liberation of the masses.
Again, keeping it simple and direct was the focus of the early soviets. The idea was to convince people that an ideal society will come after the proletariat revolution. In the early Soviet movies, the individual worker hero took a backseat to the workers in general. These movies were simplified and depersonalized. They were very basic tales of the Soviets' portrayal of good and evil. The idea was to appeal to the masses.
The idea is shown in The Dream of Taras, a film by Lev Kuleshov. This film tells the story of a Soviet soldier who breaks the military discipline by getting drunk and falling asleep. He dreams of being a soldier in the tsarist army. In his dream Taras, visits a prostitute and is caught by a general.
The soldier is sentenced to death and at the last minute awakes to discover that it was all a dream. This film implied that Soviet soldiers should fight for the regime, and do whatever they can to prevent a return to the evil capitalist rule. (Shlapentokh 41) Lennon often made an effort to win the support of intellectuals foreign and domestic. These supporters, whom shared Lennon's socialist views, helped establish the illusion that the Soviet Union was a democratic society with total equality. Among these supporters was an American news journalist named John Reed. Reed published, Ten Days that Shook the World. This work featured an introduction by Lennon himself.
It romanticized the Bolshevik Revolution. Many other foreign writers helped legitimize the revolution, most notably H. G. Wells. (The Encyclopedia of Propaganda 677) As mentioned earlier Lennon used all facets of society to aid the flow of propaganda. By 1918 all schools in the Soviet Union were completely controlled by the state. A special agency called, "Pioneers" was set up in 1922 to help "train" Soviet children and ensure that they are properly prepared to become good communists.
A primary focus of the "Pioneers" was to substitute atheism for the Russian Orthodoxy. Lennon also set up courts, known as at-courts, that were held in a public forum. These courts were intended to display the activities of the enemy. The Communist party newspaper, Proved, was established in order to monitor the distribution of press and to spread the good word of Communism.
All these aforementioned propaganda tactics were created and utilized with one specific goal in mind. Lennon set out to create a "New Soviet Man." Which is a disciplined proletariat atheist socialist. Lennon died in 1924, this opened the door for a new leader to take control. That leader was Joseph Stalin. Stalin gained a full Lennon-like dictator status by 1929. To fully achieve this status he, in the grand Soviet tradition, had to completely eliminate his opponents.
His main opponent was Leon Trotsky. After a few years of bitter struggling with Trotsky and his followers, he eventually...
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