TOWARDS THE SOVIET CITIZEN’S PERCEPTION OF PROPAGANDA IN THE LATE USSR: THE EXPERIENCE OF A PRIVATE STUDY
Based on the processing and analysis of more than one hundred interviews, the paper attempts to conduct a pilot study into individual politically significant aspects of information consumption in the USSR in the era of stagnation and accordingly of the Soviet citizen’s perception of some key political ideas conveyed by mass communication and propaganda media (MCPM). The analysis of the interviews shows that most of the questioned were active consumers of information offered by Soviet MCPM; however, they critically perceived many ideological clich é s used there. This was accounted for by the fact that most of the interviewed were disillusioned with some basic ideas and had access to alternative information sources as well as witnessed the disparity between ideological postulates and reality. And yet, those interviewed in the era of stagnation were, for the most part, loyal enough to the basic ideas and values conveyed by Soviet MCPM. However, taking into account the forthcoming collapse of the USSR, it might be assumed that these ideas gradually lost their significance and were unable to mobilize society in the long-term.