Life in Stalins Russia Art and Sport

Agitational Art Art used to manipulate ideological beliefs, specifically to spread the ideals of Communism in Russia. Period immediately following the 1917 revolution Took many different forms o theatrical performances, storming of the white palace o Agit-trains o Statues.

How was Art used by the State - During this time, there was tighter control on the content of the pictures. Each picture would often contain tractors, harvesting, peasants etc… - It had to show socialist elements and it had to tell a story that could be understood without any difficulty. Hence the state used the art produced as propaganda. - For Music, t he State made sure that all music made was positive, symphonies were only allowed in a major key as it created a much more happier tone compared to a symphony in a minor key. Music was used again as propaganda as the music made was intended to praise the ' happy life of a soviet man'

Impact of communism on artists - In the 1920s, artists had a lot of freedom, as they were allowed to express themselves. Stalin merely saw this as a form of propaganda - However, in the 1930s, there were more restrictions, as strists had to conform to 'Socialist Realism'. This meant that the artists had to glorify the achievements of Stalin and the five-year plan. - The artists were encouraged to produce their own work as the Tzar's censorship was lifted.

The effects of Cultural Revolution -The Cultural Revolution was part of a great change in the USSR, it was associated with the ‘socialist offensive’. -The Cultural Revolution had a huge impact on the Arts, some of the old ‘master’ paintings were vandalized because of the class wars in Russia. They were noted as ‘bourgeois culture’. -Galleries had to start labeling exhibits according to the class origins of the artist. The major artists association changed its name to Association of Proletarian Artists in Artists were given strict guidelines for their paintings and since museum directors were given bonuses for exceeding their targets it gave a large incentive for them to bring more people into the galleries, exposing the public to the message.

Effects on the People Architecture - Russian Metro, decorated so lavishly considering it was public and anyone could use it. Proletkult (proletarian cultural movement), people creating their own art. Propaganda, the bolsheviks managed to keep well known artists on their side encouraging them to take advantage of the lack of censorship. Agitational art - manipulating ideological beliefs spreading communism. storming of the winter palace, o Agit-trains which were painted and filled with party manifestos and even carriages with films of lenin and trotsky.

Sport in the USSR The USSR was a very keen sporting country, consistently achieving high in the Olympics. Since 1952, the USSR never finished below 3 rd at the Olympic games (this record still stands today). The most popular sports in the USSR included football, figure skating and basketball. From 1956 to 1988 the Soviet Union national hockey team won seven gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal in nine appearances.

Sport continued In the 1960s the Soviet Union rose to become a dominant power in figure skating, especially in pairs skating and ice dancing. At every Winter Olympics from 1964 until the present day, a Soviet or Russian pair has won gold, often considered the longest winning streak in modern sports history. Although Russia has never hosted the Olympics, it has a pretty strong reputation for weightlifting. The USSR was one of the few countries that didn’t have a high rate of doping cases which shows that the USSR were very passionate for sport.