Pick out 3 details of this picture which make it a suitable example of Stalin’s art in the 1930s.

Click on the parts of the picture. Move on

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Stalin prominent in the painting

Books – a suitably intellectual setting

Lenin listening to Stalin

Stalin’s clothes lighter than his surroundings

Stalin in control of the plan, not Lenin

Objectives

Culture in the 1930s

Culture in the 1930s

Art

CinemaReligion

Music

Literature

Starter

TasksMr B. Armstrong, Ripley St. Thomas

Objectives

• Have clear understanding of each area of culture in 1920s USSR.

• Be able to explain how cultural control changed in 1930s USSR.

• Be able to explain why the Communist Party made the cultural policies of the 1930s.

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Art: 1920s• Art was not controlled; rather

it was “grass roots”.• Lots of artist experimented

with new ideas.• Constructivism and futurism

were two of the new “avant-garde” styles.

• It all tended to be very stylised and mechanical with lots of bold shapes and patterns.

• Lots of art was intended to be practical, rather than decorative.

1920s 1930sHOME

The Cyclist

Art: 1930s• In the 1930s, Socialist Realism

took over.• All art had to depict what was

being shown in a realistic manner.

• Only positive, happy pictures of the USSR were allowed.

• Country scenes and revolutionary events were favoured over industrial paintings.

• All paintings were censored and commissioned by the government, with the organisation known as....

1920s 1930sHOME

Women of the Kolkhoz

Cinema: 1920s

1920s 1930sHOME

• In 1918, the Commissariat of Popular Enlightenment was formed under Lunacharsky.

• Proletkino was a part of this for making films.

• In 1925, the Politburo decided to not interfere in film making. This left film makers like Eisenstein a lot of freedom.

• 300 million cinema tickets were sold in 1926 alone, though most cinemas were in towns and the most popular films were Hollywood comedies.

• In 1928, the All-Union Party Congress on Film Questions was formed and it was decided that films needed regulating and making available to the masses.

Poster for Eisentstein’s 1926 hit Battleship Potemkin, a retelling of the 1905 revolution

Cinema: 1930s• In the 1930s, cinema was tightly regulated.• Only films or documentaries about strong heroes

outperforming their targets or identifying enemies of the state, or films of historical events which promoted communism were allowed.

• Films were pre-and post- production censored by the State Committee for Cinematography.

• Stalin quite often dealt with script writers personally.

• Film writers were set targets, just like industry.• But the lack of freedom for directors meant that

film numbers actually dropped; in the 1920s, about 100 films were made per year compared to about 60 a year in the 30s.

• Stalin himself had a personal cinema; he favoured musicals, comedy and Charlie Chaplin imported movies.

1920s 1930sHOME

Poster for film Outcast

Religion: 1920s• Jan 1918 Decree of

Separation made Church and State separate.

• Union of the Militant Godless formed. They smashed churches and held events to disprove God’s existence.

• Religious ceremonies were made Communist. Children were “Octobered”, rather than baptised, and weddings were carried out in front of a picture of Lenin, not an altar.

1920s 1930sHOME

1929 magazine cover showing workers dumping Jesus in a bin

Religion: 1930s• Religious attacks were

stepped up from the 1920s and were more violent.

• By the end of the 30s, only 12/168 bishops were still on the run, and more rabbis, mullahs and priests were killed per year than during the Civil War.

1920s 1930sHOME

Baku cathedral, demolished in 1930s

Literature: 1920s• Literature was largely uncontrolled.• It tended to be about groups of people,

rather than individuals.• Popular books featured groups of

Communist citizens overcoming anti-revolutionary opponents.

• In 1928, the government formed the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers was formed to direct the writing more.

• They used brigades of writers, like the First Urals Brigade, to write en masse about industrial achievements.

• Some older writers, like Pasternak, stopped writing.

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Literature: 1930s• RAPP was abandoned in 1932.

Literature was all censored by the Union of Soviet Writers headed by celebrity writer Maxim Gorky.

• Titles were to once again feature a strong hero to emphasise individual effort; some 1920s novels were rewritten.

• Brigades of writers were sent to collective farms and industrial areas to gain inspiration.

• Books had to be short, simple and emphasise productivity; titles were to the point, like Cement, The Great Conveyor Belt, and How the Steel was Tempered.

1920s 1930sHOME

Music: 1920s

• In the 1920s, music became a lot more free and experimental.

• Bands and orchestras did not have conductors any more.

• More new styles of music spread through USSR, including American Jazz which became popular.

1920s 1930sHOME

Paranakh’s Jazz Band

Please wait a moment

Music: 1930s

1920s 1930sHOME

Troika from Lt. KijeSabre Dance

• In the 1930s music became more organised. It was censored and commissioned by the Commissariat for Popular Enlightenment.

• Music had to be classical in nature or folk music.

• All music had to be in a major key and promote positive views of the USSR.

• Music was also used to promote national unity between national groups.

Stop music

BIG IDEASALL WRITE ROUND ROBIN

• Take it in turns to give a reason that could answer the question.

• Everyone writes down all of the answers.

• Only 1 person should speak at once.

TASK

1) Why was controlling culture so important?2) How much do you think was Stalin’s personality, rather

than purely Party policy, shaping the decisions?3) What complications would you imagine happened in

enforcing strict cultural policies?4) Was 1930s cultural control in USSR a good idea or not?

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ESSAY TITLEBy next lesson, have a plan for

the essay butDO NOT WRITE THE ESSAY

ITSELF BEFORE NEXT LESSON

TASK 2

To what extent did Stalin consolidate his control of USSR through strict control of the arts and media? (30)

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