The Soviet media theory originated after the 1917 Russian Revolution as a way to structure the media based on Marxist-Leninist principles. It held that the state should control all media and communication to serve the interests of the working classes. The government ended private media ownership and used media as a way to educate the masses and promote a strong socialist society. While similar to authoritarian theory in centralizing media control, Soviet media theory still allowed for some public feedback and was intended to benefit the people under the leadership of the nation.