Chapter 15

Question 1

What were the 3 ways Stalin established his cult of personality?

Answer 1

Through the falsification of history, Stalin would doctor with historical pictures
- Such as in the main historical education textbook in 38’, where Stalin was by the side of Lenin in all major events and others played minor roles

‘Art of its own sake’ had no place in the USSR and all writers had to join the Union of Artists which controlled what was outputted
- Artists had to adopt socialist realism, in which they had to make about what socialism might become, not what reality is. Glorifying the working man

Propaganda such as ‘worker heroes’ (stakhvonites) were used.
- Young men who accomplished great endeavours were put on the front page of the Pravda (articles)
- Women factory workers were glorified and described as ‘norm breaking’
- Morozov (a kid who denounced his dad as a kulak) was used as an example to all kids