Officially sanctioned theory and method of artistic and literary composition in the Soviet Union from 1932 to the mid-1980s.
Following the tradition of 19th-century Russian realism , Socialist Realism purported to serve as an objective mirror of life. Instead of critiquing society, however, it took as its primary theme the struggle to build socialism and a classless society and called for the didactic use of art to develop social consciousness. Artists were expected to take a positive view of socialist society and to keep in mind its historical relevance, requisites that seldom coincided with their real experiences and frequently undermined the artistic credibility of their works.