Title: The enemy on trial : early Soviet courts on stage and screen /
Authors: Cassiday, Julie A.
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press,
Year: 2000
Subjects: Moscow Trials, Moscow, Russia, 1936-1937.; Courts Soviet Union History.; Socialism and theater Soviet Union History.; Socialism and motion pictures Soviet Union History.; Culture and law.; Theater and state Soviet Union.; Theater Political aspects Soviet Union.; Motion pictures Political aspects Soviet Union; Trials in motion pictures.; Trials (Political crimes and offenses) Soviet Union
Abstract: "Attempting to indoctrinate the public into a new society, the Soviets staged "show trials"--Legal trials that incorporated theatrical elements such as coached defendants, memorized confessions, and grueling interrogatory "rehearsals." This genre of legal drama, originating in socialist theater and cinema of the 1920s, moved from mass public spectacles to the courtroom as the Soviets sought to effect ever greater social transformations."