H/W 21st November 2016
How far would you agree that the Soviet government’s use of the arts and culture was
successful in the period 1917 to 1985?
I agree to a great degree that the Soviet’s use of the arts and culture was successful in the years
1917 to 1985, because of how it enabled the government to spread the message of communism and
‘Socialist Realism’ across the USSR, and use this as a form of propaganda to encourage workers and
peasants in contnuing their work to aid Russia.
I agree to a great degree that the Soviet’s use of the arts and culture was successful because it
enabled the government to embed the values and beliefs of communism in the populaton, and
would use artsts and writers to construct a new culture that would ensure that the old Bourgeois
culture associated with the Tsarist regime would be pushed away. During the tme of Lenin – and the
early days of communism – diversity in revolutonary art and culture was tolerated, and it celebrated
modern industrial technology and promoted the revolutonary government; however Stalin then
reconstructed the arts, and argued that art should express the government opinion rather than
individual creatvity – this was successful to a great degree because it allowed the government to the
arts as propaganda and spread their message of communism over the Soviet Union. Stalin then tried
to reorganise it by establishing ‘The Soviet Union of Writers’ which started to defne appropriate
artstc styles. This helped to distnguish the writers that were genuinely behind the revoluton and
this movement was described as ‘Socialist Realism’; this was successful as a use of art and culture as
it ensured that they could use this as an opportunity to promote the aims of the Soviet Union, which
included: party spirit, natonal spirit, and provided a ‘true’ refecton of reality – Socialist Realism
became a way for the government to promote economic and social policies to the peasants and
workers, who Stalin deemed couldn’t comprehend art and music with no melody. Stalin also started
a Cultural Revoluton in the late 1920s, which entailed full-scale assault on traditonal writers and
artsts, who were going to be removed and replaced by artsts and writers who were loyal to
socialism – this ensured that socialism and Stalin’s views could be projected across the USSR through
these mediums, and could help to manipulate the Soviet people.
However, the government’s use of arts and culture wasn’t a success because the treatment of
other artst and writers such as Sinyavsky and Daniel (1966,, who were arrested and accused of ant-
Soviet propaganda under Artcle 70 – this led to a demonstraton of two hundred students and due
to the fact that Ofcial Culture contnued to focus of propaganda and socialism achievements, which
created many themes for the populaton, artsts and writers were unimpressed and bored by the
style that the public preferred. The boundaries of what was acceptable were constantly testng to
artsts and writers, and therefore meant that there were clashes within the government; hhrushchev
exclaimed angrily in front of cameras that ‘a donkey could smear beter art with his tail’ than what
abstract artsts could do, which suggests that he wasn’t happy with the artwork produced, and that
it wasn’t being utlised properly, the way the government wanted it to be. Artsts and writers then
contnued to use a range of responses of their art, to avoid having to conform to the role expected
of them by the government by the early 1980s; this forced some into exile, and for others to start
writng in a way that meant the readers and audience had to read between the lines to grasp the
messages behind the work. The government also employed homsomol groups to patrol the streets
and dance halls – these were used to report on young people whose behaviour was deemed
unacceptable. This was due to the youth being bored of the unexcitng and repettve themes of
ofcial cultural output, so therefore became infuenced by Western music and dance.
How far would you agree that the Soviet government’s use of the arts and culture was
successful in the period 1917 to 1985?
I agree to a great degree that the Soviet’s use of the arts and culture was successful in the years
1917 to 1985, because of how it enabled the government to spread the message of communism and
‘Socialist Realism’ across the USSR, and use this as a form of propaganda to encourage workers and
peasants in contnuing their work to aid Russia.
I agree to a great degree that the Soviet’s use of the arts and culture was successful because it
enabled the government to embed the values and beliefs of communism in the populaton, and
would use artsts and writers to construct a new culture that would ensure that the old Bourgeois
culture associated with the Tsarist regime would be pushed away. During the tme of Lenin – and the
early days of communism – diversity in revolutonary art and culture was tolerated, and it celebrated
modern industrial technology and promoted the revolutonary government; however Stalin then
reconstructed the arts, and argued that art should express the government opinion rather than
individual creatvity – this was successful to a great degree because it allowed the government to the
arts as propaganda and spread their message of communism over the Soviet Union. Stalin then tried
to reorganise it by establishing ‘The Soviet Union of Writers’ which started to defne appropriate
artstc styles. This helped to distnguish the writers that were genuinely behind the revoluton and
this movement was described as ‘Socialist Realism’; this was successful as a use of art and culture as
it ensured that they could use this as an opportunity to promote the aims of the Soviet Union, which
included: party spirit, natonal spirit, and provided a ‘true’ refecton of reality – Socialist Realism
became a way for the government to promote economic and social policies to the peasants and
workers, who Stalin deemed couldn’t comprehend art and music with no melody. Stalin also started
a Cultural Revoluton in the late 1920s, which entailed full-scale assault on traditonal writers and
artsts, who were going to be removed and replaced by artsts and writers who were loyal to
socialism – this ensured that socialism and Stalin’s views could be projected across the USSR through
these mediums, and could help to manipulate the Soviet people.
However, the government’s use of arts and culture wasn’t a success because the treatment of
other artst and writers such as Sinyavsky and Daniel (1966,, who were arrested and accused of ant-
Soviet propaganda under Artcle 70 – this led to a demonstraton of two hundred students and due
to the fact that Ofcial Culture contnued to focus of propaganda and socialism achievements, which
created many themes for the populaton, artsts and writers were unimpressed and bored by the
style that the public preferred. The boundaries of what was acceptable were constantly testng to
artsts and writers, and therefore meant that there were clashes within the government; hhrushchev
exclaimed angrily in front of cameras that ‘a donkey could smear beter art with his tail’ than what
abstract artsts could do, which suggests that he wasn’t happy with the artwork produced, and that
it wasn’t being utlised properly, the way the government wanted it to be. Artsts and writers then
contnued to use a range of responses of their art, to avoid having to conform to the role expected
of them by the government by the early 1980s; this forced some into exile, and for others to start
writng in a way that meant the readers and audience had to read between the lines to grasp the
messages behind the work. The government also employed homsomol groups to patrol the streets
and dance halls – these were used to report on young people whose behaviour was deemed
unacceptable. This was due to the youth being bored of the unexcitng and repettve themes of
ofcial cultural output, so therefore became infuenced by Western music and dance.
