9A

The Soviet Dream: Model Farming

Propaganda materials from the early 1950s presented idealised images of Soviet kolkhoz workers as infallible role models, intended to justify the radical transformation of the Czechoslovakian countryside. This strategy relied on the unquestioning acceptance of Soviet concepts and technologies, presented as the sole route to modernity and progress. Posters systematically promoted the cult of the 'shock worker', whose fabricated authority was intended to replace the centuries-old experience of local farmers. Under the slogan 'The Soviet Union – Our Model', a farming system was imported into the Czech environment that disregarded local traditions and conditions. This system primarily served as ideological cover for the violent collectivisation process.