Soviet Public Opinion and the Effectiveness of Party Ideological Work

Abstract

Comprehensive and centralized control of the means of
communication has been a hallmark of Soviet party rule since early
in the existence of the regime.1 The party's monopoly over what a
Soviet writer has called "the ideological process" covers the
elaboration of theory, guidance of culture, and political
education and communication.2 The latter functions are performed
by a dense and differentiated network of oral, print, and
broadcast media, all under the immediate direction of territorial
party commitees situated in each administrative jurisdiction of
the country. Through them, the leadership endeavors to shape
popular consciousness and to prevent the dissemination of facts or
ideas antithetical to the regime's doctrinally-based legitimacy.