Implementation of the Tasks of the State National Policy on Soviet Regional Television in the 1960s and 1980s

The article is devoted to the analysis of the implementation of the tasks of the USSR state national policy on regional television in the 1960s and 1980s. Based on archival materials and periodical press data, the mechanisms and tools for broadcasting the idea of “friendship of peoples” through television content are being investigated. Special attention is paid to the role of regional television studios in creating programs that combine an ideological orientation with a cultural and educational function. The paper examines the key broadcasting formats: news programs (using the example of the Vremya program), art and music programs, TV movies and TV shows. The dialectical nature of television’s impact on the audience is revealed: on the one hand, its promotion of cultural integration and the formation of a common identity, on the other hand, the limitations associated with the technical heterogeneity of regions, censorship and the template of propaganda plots. The special role of television as an element of everyday life and leisure of the Soviet people is emphasized, which enhanced the effectiveness of assimilation of ideological attitudes. Despite the fact that television broadcasting could not prevent the collapse of the USSR, it maintained the illusion of unity and stability for a long time. The article contributes to the study of Soviet media culture and the mechanisms of constructing national identity in the context of ideological control. The materials and conclusions of the study can be used in works on the history of Soviet television, media studies and the study of the national policy of the USSR.