"Nowhere it is possible to live more joyfully!" (Utopic vision of USSR in czechoslovak popular culture between World Wars)
Abstract
Import of Soviet utopia was not so succesful in our country as it was in Germany. One of the reasons was a limited target group of Czechoslovak sympathizers which gathered mainly around the Union of friends of USSR and left-wing periodicals (mainly Svět Sovětů - The World of Soviets and Rozsevačka).
Thus the production here focused mainly on printed materials whereas in other fields the fascination with Soviet system was not so obvious. In above mentioned periodicals the influence of German left-wing patterns is also clear (at least features of the publicist style of Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung are evident); yet Czechoslovak sympathizers did not greatly differ from majority society.
The only exception were demonstrations or other campaigns which were not always according to the law. Because of financial reasons there was not any film or musical production.
However, this could have been caused by limited financial means from USSR designated for propaganda. When speaking about printed material, there were attempts to replace current children's literature.
There also remains the question how the Czechoslovak public formed its image of Soviet utopia. It might have been influenced by the fact that all language of Soviet institutions was taken over without any deeper and critical analysis of its content.