yr13_ia_2007_burridge_d

=Analysis (500-650 words)= The visual image was used by Stalin frequently as a tool of propaganda throughout his rule. It is historically important as it shows how crude techniques and manipulation of the visual image were used elevate Stalin’s status, and the methods Stalin used to control and rule his country. Photographs can easily be manipulated to distort the truth to this day, films are still falsified and posters still lie. For example there is a recent article from the BBC news that highlights the importance of my historical investigation as it shows how photo manipulation is still frequently in use. The article illustrates how the police had manipulated a photograph of a man, Mr. de Menezes, to make him look more like one of the men who targeted London’s transport system; he was shot dead after being wrongly identified. Although photo-manipulation techniques have improved, and people are more aware of the process, the techniques are still used to convey false messages to the public.

Stalin used tools of propaganda to mobilize opinions and attitudes of the Russian people. Through the propaganda Stalin used suggestion and stimulation to shape minds. Although the tools of suggestion and persuasion can gain important objectives, it’s no good to overvalue its power. People are not as easily persuaded as some who fear propaganda think. Of course a person’s own knowledge and information would cause them to hold on to an opinion no matter how much propaganda is used to change it. So propaganda is not the powerful weapon that many people at the time believed it to be. It is a tool used to //try// and form public opinion.

A. Photographs and Politics

 * Photographs** of party members were usually doctored for political reasons, members would be airbrushed out. This is interesting as it gives the historian an insight into the people who disappeared, why and when. People were not only air-brushed out of photographs for political reasons, but also air-brushed in, for example there is a photograph of Stalin and Lenin sat together in Gorki, near Moscow in 1922 that was clearly faked, thousands of sculptures, paintings drawings and prints were made from the 1930’s onwards to highlight the closeness of the relationship between Stalin and Lenin. The truth was that Lenin was becoming more and more concerned with Stalin and his growing power, so he tried to break off all relations with him altogether. The politburo needed someone to take responsibility for him, the new General Secretary, Joseph Stalin was appointed. Despite this, Lenin had more strokes that eventually left him paralyzed; and he spent the last part of his life resting in Gorki, Moscow. This is a clear example of how a photograph can be so easily perceived as the truth, the Russian people would not have known that photos could be falsified.

The ways in which photographs can be manipulated proves that photographs are not as honest as they once were, and that they can no longer be classed as factual evidence of events. This also means that photographs are not as useful to historians as they first appear. They are useful in a different way, they show how the Stalin and other Russian rulers of the time used photographs as a tool of propaganda to gain support and give the Russian people inspiring hope.

B. Posters and Society
Stalin used **posters** as a medium to reach a broad public. With the Russian Revolution of 1917, for the first time in history an entire nation was governed by a communist system. The posters of this government from the first years show revolutionary enthusiasm and optimism of building a new society. Other posters attack the opponents of Stalin's government as a bloody civil war swept the country until 1920. The posters were fabricated, yet strictly controlled, to provide support for the party; they depicted Economic messages usually to generate support for Stalin’s industrialization and collectivization programs and to boost morale. For example, the poster “//Sirocenqo, 1938, ‘//Long live the great Stalin!’” //depicts// a picture of a parade, the military airplanes and soldiers: Stalin’s face is smiling friendly, but war preparations are in full swing in this poster. Many artists were instructed to paint Stalin smiling. The poster is meant to be positive and inspirational to the Russian people, to make them believe in the success and generate support for the war. Although there is more to Stalin than the smiling face the Russian people saw in the posters. The posters appeared everywhere, in factories, farms, mainly all public spaces. At the time the country was "on the attack": they had to fulfill the 5 year plans and defend the USSR. A respected poster artist of the time is //Nikolay Kochergin//, who made a visual glorification of the plan and the new society through his posters. His colors were simple; he used powerful colours of red and black. An example of his work is a poster named ‘//Long live the Red Army’// //– 1920,// where trampled beneath the feet of the Red Army are the defeated generals and the idol of Mammon, which is a symbol of capitalism. This poster was used to generate support for Stalin’s party. In the 1930s, the Constructivist style used fell from grace. Happy, healthy, young workers and determined soldiers were now the main subjects, as well as the friendly smiling face of Stalin. Poster production was lead by Yakov Ruklevsky, who recruited a group of design school graduates. Posters of the period stressed the role of Stalin. His image appeared everywhere, in every context, and always greater than life. The posters gave a powerful, dynamic impression, but were in effect, another act of propaganda. Many others were used to display how wonderful and useful the 5 year plans were. Some portrayed happy people, despite the harsh reality of Soviet Russia under Stalin. The posters are not accurate to the historian depicting Stalin’s aims at the time, yet they show how Stalin used these tools of propaganda to his advantage to gain the support of his people.

C. Films and Patriotism

 * Films** were used to display the military successes during Stalin’s rule, although they were not accurate. There were great films made during the War designed to inspire patriotism, though again, the messages shown in these films were far from reality. The films were created to inspire the Russian people into joining the army, or to show how great a leader Stalin was. In the films, Stalin is depicted as a strong, clever, caring military genius, this is quite inaccurate. Many would have described him as a brutal and cold man, of average intelligence who had no consideration for his people and disrespected his assistants. Film was in effect just another method Stalin used to get across messages to his people. They were made to convince the viewer of a certain political point or influence the opinions or behavior of people; they provided deliberately misleading and propagandistic content.