Hi Everyone!

[Simon]

Production of tractors was a key objective during the first 2 five-year plans which focused on the mechanizasion of the farm labor. The projected and realized number of manufactured tractors was widely publicized. Even as a middle-school student in the Sov. Union in the 1980's, I was told during history classes how many thousands of these farm machines were produced during the early years of the Soviet power. In movies made during that era, one can see characters driving tractors and happily singing. In the mid and late 1930's, the focus was shifted from agriculture to heavy industry and tractor "was retired" from the propaganda front. As for Lenin being the choice for the order, allow me to speculate. It is said that Communism is religion which was meant to replace Christianity in hearts and minds of Russian people. In the Imperial Russia, orders were named after saints. Therefore, it only made sense to create a Soviet order in honor of the greatest Communist saint - V. I. Lenin.

During GPW, propaganda stressed that Russian people are fighting for their land, culture, the right to speak Russian language, not for the preservation of Communist government. Old Russian heroes were revived. Strategic operations were named after Tsar's generals Bagration and Rumyantsev. Introduction of orders Suvorov, Kutuzov, Nevsky was a part of the effort to tell Russian people that the land of their ancestors is at stake in this war.

Cheers,

Simon

[medals73]

Thank you, Simon. You raise some important questions and issues that deserve close consideration and serious thought.

[Esteban_cool]

Originally Posted by Simon

It is said that Communism is religion which was meant to replace Christianity in hearts and minds of Russian people. In the Imperial Russia, orders were named after saints. Therefore, it only made sense to create a Soviet order in honor of the greatest Communist saint - V. I. Lenin.

Simon

And that`s why also Lenin`s corpse was dissected...

[Sergei]

Hi Historian,
What you are studying is a hugely complex problem: social (+economic) development, symbolism, religious belief vs intellectual acceptance of certain ideas, etc. Clearly Medals73 has a professional edge over us all in these matters. What I was going to suggest as a sideline, have a look at the design changes in the Soviet banknotes. I do not collect those at any significant level but I think they are quite indicative of the country and the era, perhaps more so than military and civil awards. After all, to most ordinary people, even in a socialist country, paper money in any significant quantity would be the most common symbol of well-being .
Sergei

[medals73]

Sergei adds an important dimension. Paper money, coins, and even my colleague's postage stamps are more a part of peoples' lives than ODM.

Much as we love them, the design of awards speaks to a fairly limited audience (though arguably an important one). And, in many ways, the political message of the labor awards is more important than that of the military ones. Just look at the Badge of Honor (and track the change in how the happy workers, especially the female one, are shown -- her shoes and, er, upper anatomy change significantly over the course of the revolution -- you could write a whole paper just on her shoes!).

The re-Tsarification (I invented a phrase there) of the USSR when the war was going badly (new neo-Tsarist awards, changes in the way the old awards were worn, the rejection of old socialist uniform designs for all the new neo-Tsarist styles, etc.) represent an important moment of transition and near-panic (more important than the current rumors of Stalin ordering renewed prayers in St. Basil's). And, as with the present-day Kremlin follies, a return to a distant past is always an easy way to distract people from a complex present; but, then, all states play this game.

The presentation of heroes who aren't heroes isn't, of course, a uniquely Soviet act. You seem to be suggesting that only the (that particular?) "Evil Empire" did this? I hope I am misunderstanding you here. To inspire, heroes are always of value, and the more emotive and public the better. A "hero" whose tale is kept secret does no good for anyone; a public hero can be a motivator, inspiration, and distraction for the crowd. Does anyone recall Jessica Lynch? Has anyone seen the film "Wag the Dog"?

Be careful with the whole "Communism as religion" argument. I'd suggest it has more to do with a need for circuses to go along with the newly available bread (whether real or cinematic). If you can't get your circus "fix" from the church anymore, then you can get it on May Day (or from a literal circus). It is all about offering the people an emotional floor show for entertainment and distraction. While the preservation of Lenin and Stalin as political relics and the establishing of other secular pilgrimage sites in and along the Kremlin Wall may touch on obsolete religious practices, it also represents a public and demonstrative patriotic patricipatory ritual. And the day Tsar Vladimir or Tsar Mikhail III knocks down Lenin's tomb in the dead of night (as happened to Sukhbaatar and Choibalsan in Ulanbaatar) will be an interesting moment in deconstructing, demolishing, and descrating Soviet history. It isn't just ancient Egyptian rulers who got off by chiseling-out their predecessor's name on monuments or Chinese emperors who re-wrote history with each new dynasty.

State rituals are always interesting, and every state plays this game. Don't get caught up in assertions and discussions of "Soviet Propaganda". It isn't propaganda, it is statecraft, and every government plays that game, always have, always will. And that is part of what makes it so much fun, watching how states at moments of transition or crisis reinvent themselves in tangible fashion (and how happily and gullibly the people always seem to swallow the latest 180-degree-twisted repackaging of the latest civic myth [lie]).

Obviously, I find this whole thing very interesting. It is also a nice way for us to repackage our "hobby" as "scholarship".

[Historian]

You've both added some new angles there, thanks.

Medals73, I agree with you on those points (the title of my presentation so far is "Medals and their use as tools of Propaganda", it was slightly more interesting/different than the rest of my 10 person class doing WW1 recruiting posters!!!). I feel I can make a rather more balanced argument than I could before the points you make about uniforms money, etc. will be pointed out, as counter factors to my 'theorisations', and hopefully my paper will stand out amongst the poster crowd, and won't bore the examiner stupid (I can imagine 10, 10,000 papers on recruiting posters of WW1 could get rather repetitive :-( ). I'll mention the order of Nevsky in passing (the representation of the film actor etc.) and go on to the order of motherhood further (may have to ditch more of the Brit stuff for the talk but re-add it for the paper, if it gets accepted.........).

BTW, I wasn't, as you asess suggesting only the Soviets made up hero's, but it was taken from my paper on "Soviet legitimization of the Second World War" (which you may peruse if you really wish :-) ).

ATB, and Thanks,
Tom

[Simon]

Thank you, Simon. You raise some important questions and issues that deserve close consideration and serious thought.

My pleasure

Simon, I think I know the film you are referring too, the one where they are all singing, on and off tractors, and eating lots of bread..... had to watch a few like that..... :-) Wish I spoke Russian now! I will bring up these points if thats ok in my presentation, I will make it clear that it is speculation however we are expected to extrapaplate upon limited information and attempt to see what point is being made through the propaganda (like the famous leninist window cartoons etc. etc.).

That's fine.

As well as, as you say the importance of "Old Russian heroes...Strategic operations were named after Tsar's generals Bagration and Rumyantsev. Introduction of orders Suvorov, Kutuzov, Nevsky was a part of the effort to tell Russian people that the land of their ancestors is at stake in this war."

I strongly advise you to take a look at Alexander Werth's book Russia At War which is available at most libraries. The author discusses re-Tsarification of army, resurrection of old Russian heroes, introduction of Motherhood awards and other propaganda efforts.

I will also make note of the usage of falsified awards, Like that of Private Alexandr Matrosov, he reportedly:

“Threw himself in front of an enemy machine gun in an act of extreme sacrifice”.

The latest I read is that AM is a true hero who indeed made the machine gun shut up. The discussion focuses on how he did it. Most likely theory is that he got on top of the bunker and was shooting through ventilation holes. Germans had to stop shooting to deal with him. In that time, his unit advanced forward.

This elaborate series of lies was intended to intensify and strengthened unity throughout the Soviet Union and its peoples. The use of lies like this was used to reinforce the idea of Homo Sovieticus (Soviet Man) and how strong and powerful they were and therefore, in the Soviet mindset, how strong and powerful the whole Soviet Union was.

You can use movies "Povest' o Razvedchike" ("Tale about an Agent") (1947) and "Povest' o Nastoyashchem Cheloveke" ("Tale about a real man") (194?) to support this claim. Characters in these movies can't stop saying how confident they are in their strength because, as each of them says, "I am a Soviet Man!".

Sergei adds an important dimension. Paper money, coins, and even my colleague's postage stamps are more a part of peoples' lives than ODM.

Orders and medals were pictured on stamps, postcards, money, monuments, pins. Orders were even personified in songs. In one song, a young cosmonaut takes "orders of his father killed near the city Berlin" to the space base. When he goes to space, "orders of the father killed near the city Berlin shine with pride".

The re-Tsarification (I invented a phrase there) of the USSR when the war was going badly (new neo-Tsarist awards, changes in the way the old awards were worn, the rejection of old socialist uniform designs for all the new neo-Tsarist styles, etc.) represent an important moment of transition and near-panic (more important than the current rumors of Stalin ordering renewed prayers in St. Basil's). And, as with the present-day Kremlin follies, a return to a distant past is always an easy way to distract people from a complex present; but, then, all states play this game.

Once again Russia At War is a must to take a look at. Look at the chapter where A. Werth comments on Stalin's speech on Nov. 6, 1941 in Moscow subway.

I'll mention the order of Nevsky in passing (the representation of the film actor etc.) and go on to the order of motherhood further

Nevsky was a paramount propaganda figure. Besides, the movie, there was K. Simonov's poem Ice Battle. Even in the 1980's, Soviet school children read it. The poem mostly describes the battle of A. Nevsky and his army against teutonic knights who are German ancestors. Then, the poem goes on to talk about defeat of Germans near Pskov in WW1. In epilogue, there is a message that modern Germans studying Mine Kampf will face the same fate as Teutonic knights and Germans in WW1 if they invade Russia. Also, look at WW2 posters and you will see warriors of A. Nevsky era.

Cheers,

Simon

[Historian]

Again, Brilliant, and thankyou, as I said Soviet history really isn't my specialist area, and this helps so much.

ATB,
Tom

[Eryk]

Re-Tsarification (great phrase!) is a misinterpretation of the development of the Red Army during the war. Just as the creation of the Continental Army in 1775 was not a “re-Monarchization” of the colonies, the successful professionalising of the Red Army during the war was not a reintroduction of Tsarist beliefs.

Socialist theory and practice of war, as defined by the political heads of the Soviet Union, simply proved inadequate on the battlefield. After a year of war this was obvious, and Stalin was smart enough to see it. Falling back on hierarchy, unitary command, and regalia introduced accountability, initiative and recognition into the military. (Much more significant than the introduction of uniforms and medals was the removal of the political officers, the Commissars, from the chain of command in October, 1942.) Professional militaries usually have a great store of tradition, military – not political – tradition. (Look at the battle honors of an English Regiment, then try to tell who was in power/office during each of the battles/campaigns commemorated. You most often can’t, and it's irrelevant to the honor of the regiment in any case.) This was lacking in the Red Army, and reintroduced using the only traditions that would resonate – those of great military commanders of the past.

In short, starting in 1942/43 the state simply gave the military professionalism as a military. Part of this was to give it the trappings and structure of a professional military, rather than a “revolutionary army.” To a romantic this might appear as some sort harking back to Tsarism and “betrayal” of socialism. But it’s a betrayal only in so far as it acknowledged reality and by extension admitted the unreality of an effective yet non-hierarchical, egalitarian, truly “socialist” military in the modern age.

[Sergei]

Without intending to highjack Historian's thread, the last post by Medals73 made me sort of 'uncomfortable'. To be honest, I did not expect from a Western Scholar such a deep perception of what I have always assumed to be the prerogative of a native Russian. Despite my argumentative nature, I could not find a single paragraph I could argue with, and I really loved this:

Originally Posted by medals73

The re-Tsarification ... of the USSR ...

Sergei