During the First All-Union Congress of Soviet Writers, Socialist Realism is declared the official style of Soviet literature. It is quickly extended to include to all artistic genres.
Combining “truthfulness and concreteness of artistic depiction” with the “task of ideological formation,” Socialist Realist works of art are expected to depict “real life in its revolutionary development.” In practice this means portraying reality not as it actually is, but as it ought to be following the advent of socialism. Intended to educate and inspire citizens to participate in the construction of socialism, Socialist Realism will shape the artistic products of writers, painters, architects, filmmakers, and other “cultural workers” until the fall of the USSR in December 1991.
The proclamation of Socialist Realism at the Writers’ Congress is accompanied by the establishment of the Soviet Writers Union. Membership in the union becomes compulsory for anyone wishing to make a living as a writer. Comparable unions will soon be established to control every artistic genre.