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Essay on Soviet Propaganda

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Soviet Propaganda

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 Lenin 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. …show more content…

Lenin 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) Lenin 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." (Ellul 71) In his agitative propaganda Lenin 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. Lenin embraced the idea of agitative 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 Lenin's strategy

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