The Image of Allies in the Soviet Propaganda and Public Opinion (1941–1945)

Soviet propaganda during the war period played an important role in mobilizing the country and made a significant contribution to the formation of public attitudes and the moral character of Soviet citizens. During the war, the political conjuncture of the Soviet leadership and the propaganda under certain conditions became more flexible, which influenced mass events and the perception of current events by the Soviet citizens. The creation of the Allies and the explanation of the allied perfomance was the most important factor in these changes. Based on a wide range of archival sources, diaries as well as the newspaper «Pravda», the work will contribute to general propaganda studies and make an attempt to determine the main features and goals of Soviet propaganda about allies in comparison with the mass perceptions of Soviet citizens, taking into account the domestic and foreign policy context. This approach is able to determine the degree of the effectiveness of Soviet propaganda.