ORGANIZATION OF AGITATION AND PROPAGANDA IN THE MARI ASSR DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

DOI: 10.47026/1810-1909-2024-3-45-53

УДК 94(470.343)

ББК 63.3(2Рос.Мар)

Olga A. KOSHKINA

Key words: the Great Patriotic War, the Mari ASSR, propaganda, teams of agitators, lecture work, periodicals, radio, reports of Sovinformburo (Soviet Information Bureau).

Agitation and propaganda gained special importance during the Great Patriotic War. The organization of this work was based on the patriotic idea aimed at rallying the people to achieve victory over the enemy. In the rear regions, including the Mari ASSR, the main slogan was a call for provision of assistance to the front.

The purpose of the study is to study, based on the analysis of the sources of the Soviet propaganda and agitation and their organization in the Mari ASSR during the Great Patriotic War.

Materials and methods. The sources were identified in the State Archive of the Republic of Mari El. The main methods were analysis and systematization of documents.

Research results. One of the main forms of propaganda and agitation was lecture work, the quality of which was controlled by the party. The main propaganda stations were district party offices and village library and reading rooms. In 1944, the University of Marxism-Leninism was established in Yoshkar-Ola to train personnel, and 21 regional party schools functioned. Special attention was paid to billboard campaign – Honor boards, social competition results, stands with various indicators, posters, etc. Periodicals and radio broadcasting occupied one of the leading places in Soviet propaganda. There were two republican, 18 regional newspapers and two factory multi-circulation newspapers in the republic. But during the war, the radio committee staff was reduced, and broadcasting did not cover all settlements of the republic. In addition to newspapers and local radio broadcasting, leaflets with messages from Sovinformburo served as a means of political work.

Conclusions. The means of propaganda and agitation during the war years played a major role in shaping the patriotic feelings of the Soviet people. With their help, it was possible to maintain both the morale and the psychological state of the population in the rear regions. Teams of agitators, periodicals, and partly radio broadcasting had a certain educational effect on the inhabitants of the Republic.

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Information about the author

Olga A. Koshkina – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher, Department of History, Mari Scientific Research Institute of Language, Literature and History named after V.M. Vasilyev, Yoshkar-Ola, Russia (koshkina_81@mail.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2482-9628).

For citations

Koshkina O.A. ORGANIZATION OF AGITATION AND PROPAGANDA IN THE MARI ASSR DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR. Vestnik Chuvashskogo universiteta, 2024, no. 3, pp. 45–53. DOI: 10.47026/1810-1909-2024-3-45-53 (in Russian).

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