Propaganda in the World and Local Conflicts

9-16

Authors: Konstantin V. Taran

The paper uses the example of the city of Sochi to explore the forms of agitation and morale building activities practiced in extermination battalions during the Great Patriotic War. Materials that helped accomplish the paper include archival records of primary party organizations in the Sochi extermination battalions, stored by the Center for Documentation of the Contemporary History of the Krasnodar Krai (Krasnodar, Russian Federation). Research problems were addressed using both general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, concretization, generalization) and traditional methods of historical analysis. The historical chronological approach allowed an insight into issues that existed in extermination battalions and was instrumental in reviewing the forms and methods of agitation and morale building activities carried out among the personnel. The extermination battalions were created early in the Great Patriotic War, and first inspections revealed weak discipline and numerous violations in them. To correct this, the party bodies were assigned the task of organizing morale building activities and agitation campaigns among the personnel. Agitation efforts in the extermination battalions were the responsibility of specialists appointed by primary party organizations of the units. These specialists utilized a wide range of activities, including rallies, lectures, production of wall newspapers and combat leaflets, roll-outs of patriotic and political campaigns and other. Importantly, these had a strong focus on reading and understanding the “Brief course of the history of the AUCP(B)” (Kratkiy kurs istorii VKP(b)), which contributed to the ideological indoctrination of Communists, Komsomols and non-Party personnel in line with Marxism-Leninism pillars.

26-31

Authors: Irina G. Tazhidinova

The article reviews mediation processes that accompanied the preparation of the first trials of war criminals in the USSR in 1943. During the liberation of the country's territories occupied by the Nazi invaders, the truth about the atrocities committed against peaceful Soviet citizens was revealed. The crimes of the enemy and his accomplices were covered in the Soviet press, including through photo-printing of newspapers. In this article, we analyzed the content and dynamics of the photographic presentation of this topic in the central and regional printed periodicals during 1943, and also evaluated the possible effects of its impact on the audience. This aspect is of interest in the context of the topic of information preparation of the first trial of the accomplices of the enemy, which took place in Krasnodar in July 1943, as well as the next war crimes tribunal that was held in Kharkov in December 1943.