Art & Religion Under Stalin
History: Edexcel IGCSE USSR, 1924-1953, topic 3.2.1
Official Culture and Education
Even after the terror events, there is evidence that ordinary people believed in the power of the USSR. The government had complete control over information and propaganda, and this had great influence over ordinary people’s attitude to the regime.
Stalin's control
- The government's influence brought Stalin close to running a ‘totalitarian’ state, with complete control over the country.
- In reality, Russia was too complex for this to be the case all the time.
- ‘Socialist realism’ was the official art form of the regime. Its artist included Kozma Petrov-Bodkin, Isaak Brodsky, Alexander Samokhvalov and Yuri Pimenov.
Socialist realism
- Stalin’s decree ‘On the Reconstruction of Literary and Art Organization’ (1932) placed socialist realism at its centre.
- They were easy to understand and focused on workers in everyday situations. These workers were depicted as the heroes of Soviet society.
- The same rules applied to novels and music. Stalin called official artists ‘engineers of souls’.
The Cultural Revolution
- In education, the so-called Cultural Revolution required school students to denounce their teachers for not supporting communism.
- Strangely, discipline was relaxed in schools, and middle class young people were often expelled from school.
- The aim was to prioritise the education of workers, which had largely been achieved by the mid-1930s.
Stalin in schools
- Once the education of workers was complete, Stalin reintroduced the rules which had previously applied, including school uniforms.
- New textbooks rewrote history to praise Stalin as Lenin’s loyal assistant.
- The core curriculum was shaped in Stalin’s world view.
Religion under Stalin
With regard to religion, the Communists (as atheists) opposed the Orthodox Church and attacked Muslims and Jews.
The Orthodox Church
- Communists opposed the Orthodox Church. Many churches were shut down, and priests were imprisoned and even shot.
- Only 500 churches were open by 1941, a reduction of almost 50,000 since the beginning of the First World War.
- The Kazan Cathedral gave way to Red Square for military parades to take place in the centre of Moscow. But the church could not be destroyed entirely because too many Russians were members.
Islam
- Muslims were also attacked. The Sufi sect of Islam was particularly affected in the southern parts of the USSR.
- As the government hated foreigners, Muslims were especially at risk as their religion was loyal to forces outside the USSR.
- The use of Arabic writing was frowned upon and many non-Russian speakers were ‘re-educated’ to speak Russian.
- Muslim schools and places of worship were closed down, and participating in the Haaj pilgrimage to Mecca was forbidden.
Judaism
- With regard to Judaism, anti-Semitism was illegal, but many religious Jews were discriminated against.
- Stalin wanted to remove Jews to a designated region in the East called the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, but this idea failed.
Test yourself on Art & Religion Under Stalin
Which of the following are true of education in Stalin's Russia?
What did Stalin call official artist?
Which of the following about education under Stalin are correct?
What were Communists?
Which of the following about Stalin's religious policy are correct?