Propaganda in Stalin’s Soviet Regime
The novel Animal Farm by George Orwell is a historical allegory of the Russian Revolution in 1917. After the Russian Revolution ended, a totalitarian government rose into power which was led by a bold and ruthless leader named Joseph Stalin. At that time Stalin realized, “ it doesn't take an army to win a war in the long term, just an effective shift in the narrative”(Showalter), so, in turn, he took control of government news agency to deliver propaganda to citizens. He used propaganda to change history, keep citizens thinking that their world is perfect while hiding information, and to praise himself to a godly extent.
First, Stalin utilized the government-controlled media in order to change history and
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Stalin painted this picture through the targeted inclusion and exclusion of certain details in the news. For example, Stalin mentioned in an interview with Pravda, that he had demobilized the Red Army in order to assure everyone of Russia’s peaceful intentions (“Why Should We Let Stalin Edit Our Propaganda”). However, Stalin never mentioned that the military expenses have soared from $12,000,000,000 to $24,000,000,000 from 1948 to 1951 (“Why Should We Let Stalin Edit Our Propaganda”). This clearly demonstrates how Stalin is using the government controlled newspaper, Pravda, which means truth, in order to tell straight out lies so everyone is happy. Similarly in Animal Farm, “On Sunday mornings Squealer, holding down a long strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them lists of figures proving that the production of every class of foodstuff had increased by two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent, as the case might be. The animals saw no reason to disbelieve him, especially as they could no longer remember very clearly what conditions had been like before the Rebellion”(89). However, in reality, “the lower animals on Animal Farm did more work and received less food than any animals in the county”(125). This shows how Napoleon used his propaganda to make the animals feel good and lie to them in order to save food and eat more
Stalin used the media in order to convince the Russian citizens that there were saboteurs and spies within Russian population. Stalin used the secret police and military forces to carry out the arrests of so called saboteurs and spies that were plotting against the motherland of Russia. There were many innocent people put into work camps and jails because they stood up against the false charges of the saboteurs. "'And why was Alik arrested?' 'Oh, Natasha, if you only knew the kind of crude language he used in front of everyone in line. I'm sure now that his lounge was the undoing of Koyla,too'"(87) When Alik stood out and spoke his mind, leading to his arrest. This is very similar to when Sofia Petrovna stood up for Natasha at the print house, and then had to resign from her job. The media's attention to the saboteurs and spies gave Stalin and the government power to arrest or cast out individuals in the Russian work force and society, because they were a threat to the motherland,even if they were just acting slightly out of line.
Joseph Stalin said, “Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don 't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?”. Stalin was a dictator of the USSR from 1929 to 1953. Under his dictatorship, the Soviet Union began to transform from a poor economy to an industrial and military based one. While still a teen, Stalin secretly read Karl Marx 's book the “Communist Manifesto”, and became more interested in his teachings. When Stalin gained power, he ruled his nations using terror and fear, eliminating those who did not comply with his governance.
Napoleon is an extremely deceitful character in numerous ways. For example, Napoleon tricks the animals into thinking concepts that are not true. “Throughout the whole period of his seeming friendship with Pilkington, Napoleon had really been in a secret agreement with Frederick,” (31). This shows that Napoleon lied to the animals about which farm he was going to sell wood to. Furthermore, this also illustrates that the animals might not trust Napoleon if he continues to lie to them. Additionally, Napoleon is an untruthful menace who will do nothing to help the farm or the animals. “Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples,” (12). This shows that Napoleon is trying to
Evidence: Stalin took control of the people by cunningly convincing them that what they wanted was what he was offering. Just as Napoleon had done when he gathered the animals in the barn and implanted the idea of Animalism, (Orwell,
Stalin’s hunger for power and paranoia impacted the Soviet society severely, having devastating effects on the Communist Party, leaving it weak and shattering the framework of the party, the people of Russia, by stunting the growth of technology and progress through the purges of many educated civilians, as well as affecting The Red Army, a powerful military depleted of it’s force. The impact of the purges, ‘show trials’ and the Terror on Soviet society were rigorously negative. By purging all his challengers and opponents, Stalin created a blanket of fear over the whole society, and therefore, was able to stay in power, creating an empire that he could find more dependable.
Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union can be best described as a period of terror and censorship. In other words, he was very strict, considering the fact that he created the totalitarian government. In order to create this type of government, Stalin used fear and propaganda. He took part in The Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror that was supposed to eliminate anyone who threatened Stalin’s power. He also relied on secret police, who would arrest and execute any traitors. The online blog, “The Reasons For the Failure of The Russian Revolution”, brings up information on how Stalin planned to rule as dictator of Russia. It has been noted, “This ‘reshaping’ had three main aspects: the elimination of all dissent; the liquidation of all forms of democracy and of working class organisation; the slashing of the living standards of the working class and the physical annihilation of millions of peasants” (Text 5). This quote explains how Stalin wanted to industrialize Russia, which includes the deaths of several peasants of Russia. The Russians did not just die from The Great Purge, but also from Stalin’s Five-Year Plan. The Five-Year Plan was an attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union. It was also a plan for increasing the output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity. He had control over economic resources, including farms and
Joseph Stalin controlled everything that happened in the USSR, including the media and According to, “Life In the USSR under Stalin: The people of Russia had to read what the state allowed, see what the state allowed and listen to what the state allowed. The state’s control of the media was complete. Those who attempted to listen, read etc. anything else were severely punished. Everybody knew of the labor camps and that was enough of a deterrent.” Again the fight between the government and the individual, the individual lost again. Joseph Stalin was responsible for taking advantage of millions of people in his own country in which he ruled in, by using media that only he allowed to be listened, read, or seen. He uses propaganda in these types of media, and does not want people to recognize it from outside forces. Joseph Stalin was responsible for brainwashing people to listen to appropriate media in order for him to rule in terror. Joseph Stalin ran a government of total dominance that even controlled the media.
He had a large group of devout followers, molding them from a young age. Stalin, along with other Communist leaders, used education, literature, and even romance to mold the diverse group people. They used these sources to make the people adopt the positive attitude towards hard work, undying devotion for their country, and strict social cooperation. In A.O. Avdienko’s The Cult of Stalin, Avdienko examines the extent of devotion that Stalin’s followers had for him and how he used this to transform Russia’s society to his liking. He goes on to state that “centuries will pass, and the generations still to come will regard us as the happiest of mortals, as the most fortunate of men, because we were privileged to see Stalin, our inspired leader”. Avdienko then goes on to explain that Stalin “never had an equal in world history” and that when he and his wife has a child “the first word it shall utter will be: Stalin” (Avdienko, p.339-340). Not only does this show the blind devotion these people have for the great “Stalin” it also shows how influential Stalin was. Avdienko refers to Stalin as the “great educator” multiple times, which most likely pays homage to his use of education to promote the Communist way. By having such a wide spread influence over his people and their education, it was no wonder Stalin was able to
Stalin believed that there needed to be a dictatorship that regulated every aspect of its citizens’ lives in order to industrialize the Soviet Union. “His plans were in 5 year intervals in which the government took control over all businesses
When most people hear the name Joseph Stalin, they usually associate the name with a man who was part of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. He was willingly to do anything to improve the power of the Soviet Union’s economy and military, even if it meant executing tens of millions of innocent people (Frankforter, A. Daniel., and W. M. Spellman 655). In chapter three of Sheila Fitzpatrick’s book, Everyday Stalinism, she argues that since citizens believed the propaganda of “a radiant future” (67), they were able to be manipulated by the Party in the transformation of the Soviet Union. This allowed the Soviet government to expand its power, which ultimately was very disastrous for the people.
... a change in this image to a realization that Stalin’s suppression of dissidents and opposition had real effects on soviet society and can not be justified by Marxist and Leninist Ideology instead they were just Stalin looking to maintain his autocracy.
Arbitrary coercion and terror existed in varying degrees in the Soviet Union. Lenin’s sense of responsibility to guide the world to a socialist future combined with the people’s dissatisfaction with the recent years of war and temporary government allowed him to step in as a leader. The party under Lenin was taciturn with regards to its inner workings. While the discretion allowed communism to establish itself, such opacity could not have gone without moments of distrust from the Russian public about the agendas of this new covert government.
Stalin was determined to go ahead with this radicalism through economic and social change. His totalitarian leadership however was far from perfect, it was in fact a political system that was defectively flawed. The main issue was the lack of control the administration and party h...
Joseph Stalin’s decisive and cunning actions facilitated his rise to power and also aided him to uphold that power and maintain control over the Soviet Society. Stalin’s cult of personality helped him achieve a complete totalitarian rule and one that was unobstructed. One of this methods included rewriting the history books portraying him as Lenin’s right-hand man during the Bolshevik revolution, imbuing the people with the thought of him as the heir to Lenin. This was however far from the truth, as Joseph Stalin had covertly covered up Lenin’s testament against Stalin. Lenin was aware that Stalin would rule as a dictator and assert his power at the head of government much like the Czars by employing tactics of fear and propaganda.
Firstly, Stalin’s oppressive regime. During his rule, Stalin made use of heavy propaganda to create a cult of personality around himself. [] He used the Russian press to make himself appear as an omniscient, all-powerful leader. One such example is his many propaganda posters, which depict him as a strong, confident leader adored by all.