Well, when the Soviet Union was starting out illiteracy was high because Tsarist Russia had a shortage of public schools. So propaganda that worked even if you

Well, when the Soviet Union was starting out illiteracy was high because Tsarist Russia had a shortage of public schools. So propaganda that worked even if you couldn't read was important. And later states in the Soviet sphere like Communist Bulgaria got much of their cultural cues from the Soviet Union even if the reasons for them didn't necessarily apply.