11) Revision Of History

Question 1

What was the cult of personality?

Answer 1

Lenin: religious language surrounding his death. Stalin pupil, Lenin teacher. Essential to totalitarian regime; powerful symbol that replaced Christianity.
Stalin: “wisest man of the 20th century”, “genius of the age”. He wanted love and worship, not mere obedience. There were huge rallies and propaganda systems.

Question 2

What was the revision of history?

Answer 2

In the late 1930s Stalin began to rewrite the history of Russia. He created the ‘myth of two leaders’, placing him alongside Lenin. Others (eg Trotsky) were written out.

• he wanted to destroy the reputations of other leaders
• he claimed he was responsible for successes in civil war
• he hoped it would make Russians accept him as his leader