This article presents cultural problem of an activist woman in USSR on the basis of the novel Monumental Propaganda (Polish: Spizowa milośc Aglai) written by Vladimir Nikolayevich Voinovich. Aglaia is shown as a woman, who remained faithful to Stalin and his communist ideology during the changing times and circumstances. The main topic discussed in the novel is Stalin’s monument, the source of troubles and inspirations not only for Aglaja, but also for the city – Dolgowo, where the action of the story takes place.
1920 and 1930s is a period of formating and strengthening of Soviet authorities. This is also a time of increased pressure of the authorities on a person, period with attempts to create a new man following concepts of Russian thinkers' from 19th century: Piotr Tkachov, Sergei Nechaev or Nikolai Chernyshevsky. It's worth underlying the range of Russian dissidents' activities in the area of homo sovieticus creation. It was referring to almost all parts of human life: career, family, free time. Slogans of new morality, loosening of principles in the customs area influenced Russian man psychology and made existing values, treated as universal less important. Spreading atheism and need of belief in somebody or something forced people to look for new gods of history. All elements, parts of a new man creation process must have influenced a psychological condition of a man in USRR, losening of interpersonal relationschips and loosing the sense of life. This article shows the Lifestyle of Soviet Man. The authoress focuses on the private life of homo sovieticus as well as social life created from obligation of active participation in building the communism. The bacis research materials are literary works created in the described period but important part is also dedicated to propaganda.
The aim of the piece is to characterize the ways in which the novel The Joke (1967) by Milan Kundera and its film adaptation (directed by Jaromil Jireš, 1968) show the relationship between man and totalitarian power. The study depicts the means by which the communist society used mechanisms of re-education of the individual. The key concepts applied for this analysis are homo sovieticus (Józef Tischner) and total institution (Erving Goffman). The goal of the study is to broaden the understanding of totalitarianism from a narrow political concept to philosophical and sociological meaning.
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