> It was PROPAGANDA. It was not true by definition. Almost noone believed it. I think that you fail to entertain the possibility that a big part of the populat

> It was PROPAGANDA. It was not true by definition. Almost noone believed it. I think that you fail to entertain the possibility that a big part of the population did believe it. Propaganda might have been so prevalent because it worked. I remember seeing a documentary with some of the detainees in work camps in Syberia and they were saying thins like "Ooh, if Stalin would know what they are doing to us here." As a inhabitant of an ex-communist country, I can tell you, the effects of propaganda are deeply rooted in the common consciousness and dismissing such things outright would be rash. Perhaps highly intellectual people were more aware of their situation and their shortcoming as a nation, but even so, I am sure they had their vision clouded.