In the days of the Soviet Union, and especially under Stalin, musicians had to be very careful about what they did and how they composed. Music, like all arts, was supposed to make people feel that they were lucky to be living in a great country like the Soviet Union. If composers wrote music that the politicians did not like or understand, life became very difficult for them: they would not be allowed to compose, and their music could not be performed. They might even be sent to prison. Tikhon Khrennikov became Secretary to the Union of Soviet Composers in 1948, at the time when Stalin was dictator. He continued in this job until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He made sure that all musicians obeyed their political leaders.