Zhdanov

Zhdanov is a Slavic surname of Ukrainian and Russian origin. It is most often associated with Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov (1896–1948), a Soviet politician and a prominent figure in Stalin-era policy. Zhdanov held senior party positions and was a close ally of Joseph Stalin, serving in high-level leadership roles and contributing to the formulation of postwar political and ideological priorities. He was active in shaping cultural and propaganda policies and was a member of the Politburo during the late 1940s.

Zhdanov is also associated with the cultural doctrine named after him. In the late 1940s, he articulated a policy commonly referred to as the Zhdanov Doctrine or Zhdanovism, which held that culture, art, and science should serve the goals of the state and the Communist Party. The doctrine condemned Western liberalism and cosmopolitanism, promoted Socialist Realism as the official artistic method, and supported strict censorship and ideological conformity in both the Soviet Union and its satellite states. The policy helped justify broader control over cultural institutions and intellectual life in the early Cold War period.

In historical usage, Zhdanov denotes both the individual and the associated policy framework. The surname remains in use in Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking regions, and its association with the doctrine is frequently cited in discussions of Soviet cultural and political control during the postwar era.