Shostakovichs Contribution to Soviet Propaganda - 1970 Words

In the year 1922, after a long and bloody civil war, the Soviet Union was officially formed. After World War II, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, established itself as one of the world’s superpowers, opposite of the United States of America. The Communist regime reigned over the Soviet Union until 1990, shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed and was formally dissolved in December of 1991. However, during that reign, many rules and regulations were imposed on all aspects of life, including music. Many musicians were denounced because their music did not conform to the Soviet regulations. Some fled the country. Others stayed to fight for the right to compose freely. Those who stayed had to walk a fine line, balancing their†¦show more content†¦In 1928, Stalin implemented the First Five-Year Plan, which was meant to guide the economy into rapid industrialization. As a result, in 1928, collective farms were established all over the country, in an attempt to increase food supply for urban communities and raw materials. However, famine once again ravaged the state, causing the deaths of millions. Starting in 1936 and continuing until 1938, Stalin orchestrated a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution, sentencing over a million people to forced labor camps, known as Gulags, or to be executed. This became known as The Great Purge, or The Great Terror. Stalin revealed the new Soviet Constitution in 1936. In 1939, the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union was signed in Moscow. The secret details of this non-aggression pact divided eastern Europe in to German and Soviet spheres of influence. As a result, on September 1st and 17th, Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were annexed by the USSR. Finland, which according to the pact fell in the Soviet sphere of influence, resisted diplomatic tries to move back it’s border, thus resulting in the Winter War, in which the Finns ceded portions of Karelia to the Soviet Union. On June 22nd, 1941, Germany broke the non-aggression pact and invaded the Soviet Union III. World War II The