Joseph Stalin's Social Policies in the Soviet Union

Propaganda State

• Creation of a propaganda state under Stalin's direction.
• State-directed artists and writers to promote Soviet ideology.
• Socialist Realism: The official artistic style to depict positive communist values.
  • Idealized the Soviet government and Stalin.
  • Non-compliance led to purges.
• Soviet Union of Writers (1934):
  • Required membership for publication.
  • Controlled all media to direct public views.

Cult of Personality

• Stalin's portrayal as an idealized, heroic leader.
• Emphasis on Stalin's greatness in all media.
• All achievements credited to Stalin, failures to state enemies.
• Komsomol: Youth movement (ages 14-28) supporting the state.
  • Young Octoberists (under 9) and Young Pioneers (under 14) as feeder organizations.

Suppression and Nationalism

• Targeted suppression of opposition, especially in non-Russian SSRs.
• Promotion of Russian dominance to prevent nationalist threats.
• Famines and purges as tools of suppression (1930s and 1940s).
• Mass deportations (e.g., Ukrainians, Chechens) leading to millions of deaths.

Religious Persecution

• Communist atheism led to religious suppression.
• Anti-religion Campaign (1928):
  • Closing and repurposing of churches and mosques.
  • Clerics deported or imprisoned.
• Reduction of churches to 500 by 1940 (1% of pre-1917 numbers).
• WWII relaxed persecution slightly, allowing some churches to reopen.

Education Control

• Compulsory education for ages 5-15; optional beyond for elites.
• Controlled curriculum focusing on core subjects and Marxist theory.
• Education reinforced party loyalty and created an elite class (nomenklatura).

Women's Policies

• Early reforms under Lenin loosened marriage and workforce restrictions.
• Great Retreat: Under Stalin, focus shifted back to traditional family values.
  • Constitution (1936) proclaimed equality but didn't match reality.
  • Divorce made difficult, abortion restricted, homosexuality banned.
• Increased female workforce participation.
  • Double burden of household and workforce responsibilities.
  • Women active in WWII combat and workforce.

Authoritarian State

• Stalin controlled the state bureaucracy and established a one-party state.
• Show trials and purges in the 1930s reinforced terror State.
• Command economy with collectivized agriculture and industrial planning.
• Complete state censorship and media control to ensure conformity.

Conclusion: Stalin's policies established a controlled, authoritarian state with propaganda, suppression, and social control at its core.