The Soviet Union and "new man" formation in Soviet children from 1962-1972

Abstract

My research contributes to the growing trend of looking at the individual in Soviet society. Instead of the more traditional view of looking at Soviet Union from a military, diplomatic, or even Soviet Marxist lens, I examine the images a Soviet child would be exposed to on a daily basis. My approach builds on the more traditional Cold War scholarship that has made lasting contributions to the field of Soviet historiography.13 Not only do I look at traditional mediums such as school policies and posters but also at emerging popular media in television to show how the regime may have adapted its methods to inculcate the nation's children. My research shows how, in a selection of media, the Soviet government may have portrayed values and behaviors that may have affected children's identity formation.