Issue ? 35. December 2012

The Image of Authority and the Image of 'Other' in the 1930s: Political Goals and Propaganda

Alexander Ya. Livshin – Ph.D., professor, School of Public Administration, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
E-mail: livshin@spa.msu.ru

Anastasia S. Lozhkina – Ph.D., Head of Funding Department, “Downside Up” charitable foundation.
E-mail: anastasia@downsideup.org

The image of “Other” plays a significant role in the national identity formation process. The image of a foreign country is an important factor influencing political decision-making. It also helps create positive perceptions of the government among the people.

The image of Japan was an important element of the Soviet propaganda machine used to perform certain political and ideological functions in a crucial period of history. Soviet propaganda, on the basis of existing stereotypes, created a negative image of the Country of the Rising Sun; in this process it used short-term techniques (printed media, radio) and long-term techniques – movies, literature, music, etc. The entire Soviet propaganda structure and educational system appealed to emotions and feelings of people. Soviet government has deliberately created the negative image of Japan in order to consolidate the society around the interrelated goals of confronting the Country of a Rising Sun and elevating the international standing of the USSR.

Keywords

Image of the “Other”, image of authority, political discourse, propaganda, Stalin, Japan, cartoons, manipulation of consciousness.