Expansion and reconstruction of the postwar Soviet film distribution and exhibition network. Challenges and solutions (1946–1950)

Abstract

After the end of World War II, due to the ideological shift in Soviet society and the deterioration of the relations with the West, the Soviet government decided to intensify propaganda work within the country. To this end, the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) proposed in 1946–1950 to broaden the reach and impact of propaganda by expanding and restoring the national network of film distribution and screening. Within five years, the Soviet Union had largely completed the reconstruction of the film exhibition network, but faced various challenges in its actual functioning. First, the increasingly harsh political censorship after the Second World War resulted in an underproduction and poor quality of films, which made it difficult to attract enough viewers to buy tickets and resulted in unsatisfactory box office receipts. It did not only undermine the popularity of the films, but also made it difficult to educate the uninitiated. In addition, because of the deficit economy in the Soviet Union, cinemas chronically experienced film-stock shortages, deficiency in projection equipment and qualified personnel, making it difficult to provide quality service to audiences. Together, those factors had a negative impact on the implementation of the propaganda and educational task of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) in the postwar period.