Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

, communist

worldview A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural ...

communist society In Marxist thought, a communist society or the communist system is the type of society and economic system postulated to emerge from technological advances in the productive forces, representing the ultimate goal of the political ideology of co ...

, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the term ''propaganda'' broadly refers to any publication or campaign aimed at promoting a cause and is/was used for official purposes by most communist-oriented governments. The term may also refer to a political parties opponents campaign. Rooted in

Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...

thought, the propaganda of communism is viewed by its proponents as the vehicle for spreading their idea of enlightenment of

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

people and pulling them away from the propaganda of who they view to be their oppressors, that they claim reinforces exploitation, such as

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...

. Communist propaganda therefore stands in opposition to bourgeois or

capitalist propaganda Capitalist propaganda is promotion of capitalism, often via mass media, education, or other institutions, primarily by the ruling private and political elite. Capitalist propaganda is commonly deployed in capitalist countries to maintain the cult ...

. In ''

The ABC of Communism ''The ABC of Communism'' (russian: Азбука коммунизма ''Azbuka Kommunizma'') is a book written by Nikolai Bukharin and Yevgeni Preobrazhensky in 1919, during the Russian Civil War.

'',

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

theoretician

Nikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Буха́рин) ( – 15 March 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician, Marxist philosopher and economist and prolific author on revolutionary theory. ...

wrote: "The State propaganda of communism becomes in the long run a means for the eradication of the last traces of bourgeois propaganda dating from the old régime; and it is a powerful instrument for the creation of a new ideology, of new modes of thought, of a new outlook on the world."

Theoretical origins

The ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

'' defines communist propaganda as being the expression of the essential worldview of the working class and its natural aims and interests defined by its historical position as the social force which will ultimately usher in the epoch of communism. According to communist theory, the history of all society has been the history of

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The form ...

and with each phase of this struggle comes a new set of social relationships that dictate the direction of society's development and, fundamentally, the system of producing and distributing goods and services. Arising from the creation of

surplus Surplus may refer to: * Economic surplus, one of various supplementary values * Excess supply, a situation in which the quantity of a good or service supplied is more than the quantity demanded, and the price is above the equilibrium level determ ...

during the

neolithic revolution The Neolithic Revolution, or the (First) Agricultural Revolution, was the wide-scale transition of many human cultures during the Neolithic period from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement, making an inc ...

, the unequal distribution of this surplus has been reinforced by the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

which represents the interests of the

ruling class In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by ex ...

of the time. While all societies and civilizations have had their own unique history of development, they each pass through six distinctive stages of economic relationships sharing common characteristics, these being: primitive communism (hunter-gatherer societies),

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

, and finally a return to

in a highly advanced form which is considered to be the epoch of humanity having become fully civilized. Communist propaganda accordingly serves the same purpose as all its predecessor propaganda: to ideologically enforce the legitimacy of the working class (those who derive a living from selling their labor) as the ruling class of society. Within this context, the main counter-propaganda is ''bourgeois propaganda'', or propaganda that promotes the rule of the capitalist class (those who derive a living from privately owning property and capital assets). Communist propaganda is defined as a scientifically based system of the dissemination of the communist ideology with the purpose of education, training and organizing of the masses.

Purposes

The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' identifies the following functions of communist propaganda: *The link of the Communist Party with the

and other working people *Incorporation of

scientific socialism Scientific socialism is a term coined in 1840 by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in his book '' What is Property?'' to mean a society ruled by a scientific government, i.e., one whose sovereignty rests upon reason, rather than sheer will: Thus, in a given ...

into the worker movements and revolutionary activities of the masses *Unification and organization of national divisions of the workers', communist, and democratic movements *Coordination of the activities of the above-mentioned movements, exchange of information and experience *Expression of the

public opinion Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. Etymology The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...

of the working class, working people, their needs and interests *Spread opposition to the bourgeois and revisionist propaganda *Dissemination of statistical data about socialist society (i.e., the one of a

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

Targets

As a common trait of any propaganda and its analogue,

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, communist propaganda's goals and techniques are tuned according to the target audience. The most broad classification of targets is:John C. Clews (1964) ''Communist Propaganda techniques'', printed in the USA by '' Praeger'' and in Great Britain *Domestic propaganda of the communist states *External propaganda of the communist states *Propaganda of the communist supporters outside the communist states A more detailed list would be * Members of the communist party and other groups that support communism: Communist propaganda is often directed at people who already support communism, in an effort to strengthen their commitment to the cause and to motivate them to work towards achieving the goals of the movement. * The general population: Communist propaganda is also often directed at the general population, in an effort to persuade people to support communism and to encourage them to join the communist party or other communist organizations. * Opponents of communism: Communist propaganda may also be directed at people who are opposed to communism, in an effort to sway their opinions and to convince them to support the ideology. * Other countries: Communist propaganda may also be directed at people in other countries, in an effort to promote the ideology and to build support for communist movements in those countries. A more detailed classification of specific targets (workers, peasants, youth, women, etc.) may be found in the Communist Party documents, usually presented at the Congresses of the Communist Party. Overall, the main goal of communist propaganda is to spread the ideology of communism and to build support for the movement, both within the country where it is being disseminated and internationally.

Techniques

Use of Marxist ideology

The creation of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

was presented as the most important turning event in human history, based on the Marxist theory of

historical materialism Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...

. This theory identified

means of production The means of production is a term which describes land, labor and capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or services); however, the term can also refer to anything that is used to produce products. It can also be used as a ...

as chief determinants of the historical process. They led to the creation of

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...

es, and

was the 'motor' of history. The

sociocultural evolution Sociocultural evolution, sociocultural evolutionism or social evolution are theories of sociobiology and cultural evolution that describe how societies and culture change over time. Whereas sociocultural development traces processes that te ...

of societies had to progress inevitably from

, through

and

to communism. Furthermore, the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...

became the protagonist of history, as a "vanguard of the working class", according to development of this theory by

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

. Hence the unlimited powers of the Communist Party leaders were claimed to be as infallible and inevitable as the history itself.

David Satter David A. Satter (born August 1, 1947) is an American journalist and historian who writes about Russia and the Soviet Union. He has authored books and articles about the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of post-Soviet Russia. Sat ...

. ''Age of Delirium: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union'',

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univers ...

, 2001, It also followed that a worldwide victory of

communist countries A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

is inevitable. Class struggle played a central role in the social policies of the USSR and socialist countries, all of which constitutionally outlined the supremacy of the working class in dictating society's development towards communism. Other classes with interests hostile to those of the working class were subjected to repression. This primarily focused on capitalists, including anyone who derived their living from privately owning property or capital assets. In the USSR, which was founded on a class alliance between workers and peasants, a neo-capitalist class emerged by the 1930s as a result of the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

introduced after the end of the civil war. Among the peasants, this new class (called Kulaks) accumulated disproportionately large amounts of wealth through merchant trading and small capital practices. Under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

, the government began to crack down on the Kulaks, to which their resistance was met with violent repression in what could arguably considered a second civil war. Kulaks who resisted the socialization of their assets, along with anyone who collaborated with or fought for them, were punished with imprisonment, deportation to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

, or even execution.

Lev Kopelev Lev Zalmanovich (Zinovyevich) Kopelev (russian: Лев Залма́нович (Зино́вьевич) Ко́пелев, German: Lew Sinowjewitsch Kopelew, 9 April 1912, Kyiv – 18 June 1997, Cologne) was a Soviet author and dissident. Early ...

, who was personally involved in actions against villagers deprived of food for collaborating with Kulaks explained his motivation:"Reflections on a ravaged century", pages 93-95 The violence that characterized the forced collectivization of agriculture in the Soviet Union eventually ended in the final years of the 1930s with the defeat of the Kulaks and their demise. By the 1950s, agriculture was entirely collectivized and the peasantry ceased to exist, as all agricultural workers held the same essential social relationship to their means of production as other industrial workers thus making them part of a working class.

Polarized values

While somewhat modified since the times of the

détente Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...

, communist propaganda is centered around a number of polarized dichotomies: virtues of the communist world vs. vices of the capitalist world, such as: *communists are for peace; capitalists are for war *communists are for mutual cooperation; capitalists are for coercive exploitation *communists are for democracy; capitalists are for oligarchy Still another polarization was focused on the real and alleged essence of various terms, such as "

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

", "

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

", often counterpointing, e.g., "bourgeois democracy" vs. "true democracy" or " people's democracy". The latter term is seen in the expression "countries of people's democracy" as applied to what are called " communist states" in the West.

Self-criticism

According to

Jacques Ellul Jacques Ellul (; ; January 6, 1912 – May 19, 1994) was a French philosopher, sociologist, lay theologian, and professor who was a noted Christian anarchist. Ellul was a longtime Professor of History and the Sociology of Institutions on ...

's book '' Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes'' complete propaganda can only be achieved when it is able to win over the adversary, or at least integrate it into the new frame of reference created by propaganda. This was achieved by Soviet propaganda in the self-criticism of its opponents so that the enemy of a regime can be made to declare, while still the enemy, that the regime was right and any opposition was criminal. The enemy accepts their condemnation as just and converts to a supporter of the regime as a result of totalitarian propaganda.

Means

Communist propaganda is circulated in a variety of ways, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. The most common form of communist propaganda is the use of newspapers, magazines, and books. These are used to spread political messages and ideologies to the public, as well as spread news and information about the state of the country. Communist leaders also often use the power of public speaking to spread their message to the masses. This can be done through rallies and speeches, as well as through television, radio, and other media. In addition to traditional methods, communist propaganda is also circulated through social media. Platforms such as

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

are all used to spread political messages and ideologies. This can be done by creating content that supports the party line, or by using the platform to spread news about the party’s successes. Additionally, social media can be used to share images and videos that support the party’s beliefs. Another common method of spreading communist propaganda is through the use of posters, banners, and artwork. These can be placed in public places such as parks, squares, and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

. By doing this, communist messages and ideologies can be seen and spread to a larger audience. Finally, communist propaganda is also spread through the use of films, music, and literature. Films and music are used to create a sense of

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word ...

, while literature can be used to spread political messages and ideologies. Additionally, films and music can be used to showcase the party’s successes and encourage people to join the cause.

Communist manuals

During the years 1938–1953 the '' History of the CPSU(B). Short Course'' was an obligatory explanation of Soviet ideology. The book was translated into many languages.

Communist periodicals

A number of periodicals were printed by communist states, either exclusively for distribution abroad or with versions tailored for foreign audiences. While the Soviet Union and communist China were the major contributors, other communist states contributed their share as well. The lists below are for early 1960s compiled by J. Clews. The list contains mostly English language titles, but many of these journals were edited in many languages.

Soviet Union

*'' Culture and Life'' *'' International Affairs'' *'' Moscow News'' *'' The New Times'' *'' Oeuvres et opinions'' *'' Soviet Film'' *'' Soviet Literature'' *''

'' *'' Soviet Woman'', in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish *'' Femmes de nous jours'' *''

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for ...

'' - not allowed in GDR and Cuba during ''

glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...

''.

People's Republic of China

*''

China Pictorial The ''China Pictorial'', known in Chinese as ''Renmin Huabao'' () is a Chinese monthly magazine first published in 1950. The title of the magazine was handwritten by Mao Zedong. It was one of four publications allowed during the Cultural Revolu ...

'' *'' China Reconstructs'' *''

Peking Review ''Beijing Review'' (), previously ''Peking Review'', is China's only national news magazine in English, published by the Chinese Communist Party-owned China International Publishing Group. In 2006 it claimed a per-issue circulation of 70,000 an ...

'' *'' People's China'' *'' China's Sports'' *'' Women in China'' *''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

Other

(Partial list) *

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

**'' Daily News'' **'' Demokratis'' **'' Polish Review'' * Chile ** '' Acción Proletaria'' ** '' El Siglo'' ** '' Remolino Popular'' *

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

**'' In the Heart of Europe'' **'' Czechoslovak Life'' **'' Czechoslovak Woman'' *

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

**'' Bulgaria Today'' **'' New Bulgaria'' (in English, French, Arabic) *

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

**'' Al Najallah'' (for Arabic-speaking countries) **'' GDR REview'' **'' Democratic German Report'' **'' Jena Review'' **'' Saut- as-Sadaka'' (Arabic) **'' Voix de l'Amitie'' (French, for Africa) **'' Picture News'' (English, for Asia) **'' Echo d'Allemagne'' (French) *

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

**'' Korea Today'' **' *

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...

**'' Scînteia''

Radio broadcasting

A 1952 article, "Communist broadcasts to Italy", reported that as of June 1952 the total communist radio broadcast to Italy amounted to 78 hours per week, as compared to 23 hours of the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

and BBC, noting that Italy occupied a pivotal position in the East–West conflict of the time. These broadcasts originated not only from Moscow, but also from the countries of the

Soviet Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that exist ...

, as well as from fake "underground resistance" radios probably located within the Soviet Bloc as well rather than in the West.

Film and stage

Soviet leaders believed that film was an important tool of propaganda (see

Cinema of the Soviet Union The cinema of the Soviet Union includes films produced by the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all regulated by the central government in Moscow. M ...

). Soviet films helped to create the legends of the revolution: ''

The Battleship Potemkin '' Battleship Potemkin'' (russian: Бронено́сец «Потёмкин», ''Bronenosets Potyomkin''), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent drama film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by S ...

'', '' October: Ten Days That Shook the World'', and ''

The End of St. Petersburg ''The End of St. Petersburg'' (russian: Конец Санкт-Петербурга, Konets Sankt-Peterburga) is a 1927 silent film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and produced by Mezhrabpom. Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of th ...

''.

Roman Karmen Roman Lazarevich Karmen (real name Efraim Leyzorovich Korenman) (russian: Роман Лазаревич Кармен; – 28 April 1978) was a Soviet film director, war cinematographer, documentary filmmaker, journalist, screenwriter, pedagogue and ...

was a war cameraman and film director and one of the most influential figures in

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

making. '' Obyknovennyy fashizm'' (Common Fascism aka ''A Night of Thoughts'' or ''Triumph Over Violence'') (1965) by Mikhail Romm described totalitarian propaganda on the example of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

. In 2007 a high ranking intelligence officer and defector from the Eastern Bloc,

Ion Mihai Pacepa Ion Mihai Pacepa (; 28 October 1928 – 14 February 2021) was a Romanian two-star general in the Securitate, the secret police of the Socialist Republic of Romania, who defected to the United States in July 1978 following President Jimmy Car ...

, stated that in February 1960,

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

authorized a covert plan (known as Seat 12) to discredit the Vatican because of its strong anti-communist stance, with

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

as the prime target.Pacepa, Ion Mihai
Moscow’s Assault on the Vatican: The KGB made corrupting the Church a priority
National Review Online 25 Jan. 2007Follain, John, ''KGB and the plot to taint 'Nazi pope, The Times, 18 Feb. 2007 As part of that plan General Ivan Agayants, chief of the KGB's disinformation department, allegedly created the outline for what was to become the play, '' The Deputy'', which, although fictional, purports to cast doubt on the Pontiff's moral credibility with regard to the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

International organizations, congresses and festivals

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

the

World Festivals of Youth and Students The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...

were held, with some exceptions, in capitals of communist states and were a powerful tool of communist propaganda.

Education

Education in the communist states included a considerable amount of indoctrination, both in special political and philosophical courses and in properly crafted courses of general education: history, geography, world literature, etc. Soviet ideology was taught in the Soviet Union divided into three disciplines: scientific communism, Marxism-Leninism (mostly in the form of

Leninism Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establish ...

) and communist political economy and was introduced as part of many courses, e.g., teaching Marx' or Lenin's views on topics of science or history. The Soviet format of education was imposed (with varying success) onto other satellite states.

Culture and arts

From the early days of the first communist-ruled state,

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, arts were recognized as a powerful means of propaganda and placed under strict control and censorship in all communist states. Lenin and

were the preferred subjects, although almost all of Stalin's images and monuments were removed and/or destroyed after his death in 1956.

Kukryniksy The Kukryniksy (russian: Кукрыниксы) were three caricaturists/cartoonists in the USSR with a recognizable style. "Kukryniksy" is a collective name, which is derived from the names of three caricaturists Mikhail Kupriyanov (Михаил ...

were three propaganda

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Al ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

s, who attacked all enemies of the Soviet Union.

Financial means

J. Clews cites German, French and British estimates of the early 1960s on the amount of money spent in the world for communist propaganda and political activities in the non-communist world, estimating to about $2 billion, i.e., about $2 per person outside the communists states, with major spenders being the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.

Perception in the West

The basic aspects of the communist ideology, such as violent means for attaining its goals (revolution), abolition of private property and animosity towards religion were against the traditional values of the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

and have met with strong opposition, including attempts to make the communist propaganda illegal in some states. For example: * In 1937, the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

enacted the "

Padlock Law The ''Act to Protect the Province Against Communistic Propaganda'' (french: Loi protégeant la province contre la propagande communiste), commonly known as the "Padlock Law" or "Padlock Act" (french: La loi du cadenas), was a law in the province ...

", which enabled police to prevent the use of any premises for the promotion of communism or Bolshevism. The

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

struck down the Padlock Law as unconstitutional in 1957. *In 1962, the U.S. state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

passed a law identifying communist propaganda as a subversive activity and declared that "it shall be a felony for any person to knowingly, willfully and intentionally deliver, distribute, disseminate or store communist propaganda in the state of Louisiana except under the specific exemptions hereinafter provided."§390.2
Louisiana Code (1962)

Specific examples

Propaganda in the Soviet Union Propaganda in the Soviet Union was the practice of state-directed communication to promote class conflict, internationalism, the goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the party itself. The main Soviet censorship body, Glavli ...

Propaganda in China Propaganda in China refers to the use of propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or (historically) the Kuomintang (KMT) to sway domestic and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship of prosc ...

Propaganda in the Polish People's Republic Communist propaganda played an important role in the Polish People's Republic, one of the largest and most important satellite states of the Soviet Union following WWII. Together with the use of force and terror it was instrumental in keeping the ...

Propaganda in North Korea Propaganda is widely used and produced by the government of North Korea (DPRK). Most propaganda is based on the '' Juche'' ideology and on the promotion of the Workers' Party of Korea. The first syllable of ''Juche'', "ju", means the man; the ...

* Propaganda in Cuba *

Agitprop Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', " propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred ...

Agitprop theatre A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas in ...

**'' The Decision'', ''

Man Equals Man ''Man Equals Man'' (german: Mann ist Mann), or A Man's a Man, is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. One of Brecht's earlier works, it explores themes of war, human fungibility, and identity. One of the agitprop works insp ...

'' *'' ABC of Communism'', '' History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)'', '' Quotations from Chairman Mao'' *

Whataboutism Whataboutism or whataboutery (as in "what about…?") denotes in a pejorative sense a procedure in which a critical question or argument is not answered or discussed, but retorted with a critical counter-question which expresses a counter-accu ...

References

Sources

* John Connelly (2000) "Captive University: The Sovietization of East German, Czech, and Polish Higher Education, 1945-1956",