Social contract between artistic intelligentsia and the government during the Great Patriotic war (1941-1945)
Research Article
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project 23-18-00093 “The fate of the social contract in Russia: the evolution of ideas and lessons of implementation”, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-18-00093/
How to Cite
Tartygasheva G.V. Social contract between artistic intelligentsia and the government during the Great Patriotic war (1941-1945). Science. Culture. Society. 2025. Vol. 31. No. 2. P. 87-98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/nko.2025.31.2.7 (in Russ.).
Abstract
In the article, based on a historical-sociological analysis, the role of the artistic intelligentsia and the party-state elite in shaping social cohesion, patriotism, national unity, and the mobilization of the Soviet people's spiritual strength is revealed as key components of the social contract. Author examines the features of the social contract between the artistic intelligentsia and the Soviet government during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Directors, actors, writers, musicians, composers, and artists fought at the front, supported fundraising for the National Defense Fund, conducted agitation and propaganda work, and ensured the stable development of Soviet culture in the rear. Despite the ambiguous attitude towards the Soviet government and the existence of opposition among the creators, during the war, the artistic intelligentsia rallied to serve the interests of the state and the people, significantly contributing to the support of the fighting spirit and the mobilization of the spiritual forces of the people. Thanks to her creativity, appeal to historical roots, symbols and meanings, there was a growth of national consciousness and unity of the Soviet people in the difficult conditions of wartime.
Keywords:
artistic intelligentsia, social contract, Great Patriotic War, cultural policy, social cohesion, patriotism, national unity
References
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2. Tartygasheva G. V. Artistic intelligentsia as a subject of social contract during the Cultural Revolution in the USSR (1930s). RSUH/RGGU Bulletin. “Philosophy. Sociology. Art Studies” Series. 2024;(3):24–34. (In Russ.). DOI 10.28995/2073-6401-2024-3-24-34.
3. Toshchenko J. T. Social contract: meaning and modern meaning: speech at the Plenary session “Dialogues and conflicts of cultures in a changing world”. XXI International Likhachev scientific readings. 2023:132. Available at: https://www.lihachev.ru/chten/2023/plen/Toshchenko_ZhT_2023.pdf (accessed: 25.02.2025). (In Russ.).
4. Sumner W. Folk customs: A study of the sociological significance of customs, manners, habits, morals and ethics. Rubezh: Al'manakh sotsial'nykh issledovanii. 1998;(12):4–34. (In Russ.).
5. Coser L. The functions of social conflict. Moscow: Idea-Press; 2000. (In Russ.).
6. Mueller J. E. Presidential Popularity from Truman to Johnson. American Political Science Review. 1970;64(1):18–34. DOI 10.2307/1955610.
7. Potapov D. S. To the question of the enemy of the enemy in social and psychological researches. Psychology. Historical-critical Reviews and Current Researches. 2019;8(2-1):83–89. (In Russ.).
8. Hobsbawm E. Invention of tradition. Acta Eurasica. 2000;(1):47–62. (In Russ.).
9. Zaitsev D. V., Zaitseva O. V. Social cohesion: a sociological reflection. Vestnik Saratov State Socia-Economic University. 2016;(4):103–106. (In Russ.).
10. Antipina V. A. The daily life of Soviet writers. 1930s-1950s. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya; 2005. (In Russ.).
11. Memetov V. S. Ideological and educational work of the CPSU among the artistic intelligentsia during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). Doctor Degree Thesis. Ivanovo; 1983. (In Russ.).
12. Ravikovich D. A. Formation of the state museum network (1917 – I half of the 60s). Moscow, 1988. (In Russ.).
13. Bukhman K. N., Byalaya T. P., Gumileva A. V. [et al.] (comp.). Cultural construction of the USSR. Statistical collection. Moscow; Leningrad; 1940. (In Russ.).
14. Pavlenko N. A. Alexander Nevsky: film story. In: Collected Works in 6 vols. Vol. 4: Plays and screenplays. Мoscow: Goslitizdat; 1954. (In Russ.).
15. Simonov K. M. Through the eyes of a man of my generation: reflections on I. V. Stalin. Moscow: Kniga; 1990. (In Russ.).
16. Soldatkina Ya. V. National world consciousness of the "Stalin era": Soviet culture and Russian epic prose. Observatory of Culture. 2009;(5):108–112. (In Russ.).
17. Budnitsky O. V. (comp. & ed.). “It happened. The Germans have come!”. Ideological collaboration in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. Moscow: ROSSPEN; 2012. (In Russ.).
18. Prishvin M. M. Diaries. 1940-1941. Moscow: ROSSPEN; 2012. (In Russ.).
19. Chernobaeva T. P. Contribution of the artistic intelligentsia to the victory of the Soviet people. In: Past and future of Russian intelligentsia: collection of scientific papers. Moscow: Prospekt; 2015. P. 59–68. (In Russ.).
20. Runin B. M. My environment: Notes of an accidental survivor. Moscow: Vozvrashchenie; 1995. (In Russ.).
21. Fahretdinova I. I. Front concert brigades during the Great Patriotic war. Colloquium-journal. 2020;(8-3):64–65. (In Russ.). DOI 10.24411/2520-6990-2020-11539.
22. Tsyganov D. Stalin Prize for Literature: Cultural Policy and the aesthetic canon of Stalinism. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie; 2023. (In Russ.).
23. Batyuk L. I. Soviet culture in the fight against fascism during the Great Patriotic War. In: On the 65th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. Outstanding events in world history: coll. Moscow: Plekhanov Russian University of Economics; 2010. P. 70–72. (In Russ.).
24. Shostakovich D. Music and Time (1975 №7). Svobodnaya mysl'. 2009;(5):155–160. (In Russ.).
25. Grigoryev N. Y., Rodyukov E. B. Culture and art in the battle of Leningrad. Science. Culture. Society. 2019;25(1):76–86. (In Russ.).
26. Babitskaya V. During the evacuation, the writers met with their country. Available at: https://polka.academy/materials/681 (accessed: 02.20.2025).
27. Bergholts O. Day stars; Leningrad speaks; Articles. Leningrad: Khudozh. lit.; 1985. (In Russ.).
28. Batyuk L. I. Culture of Russia during the Great Patriotic War. Candidate Degree Thesis. Moscow, 2005. (In Russ.).
29. Memetov V. S. On some methodological approaches in the study of the concept of "intelligentsia" in Russian historiography. The Intelligentsia and the World. 2008;(2):7–26. (In Russ.).
Article
Received: 14.04.2025
Accepted: 30.06.2025
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Tartygasheva, G. V. (2025). Social contract between artistic intelligentsia and the government during the Great Patriotic war (1941-1945). Science. Culture. Society, 31(2), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.19181/nko.2025.31.2.7
Section
Social contract in the context of historical sociology
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