CULT OF PERSONALITY Flashcards
What could be felt through several mediums in Tsarist Russia?
The legitimacy and presence of the ruler.
What was the Tsar seen as?
“the guardian and defender of the Orthodox Church”.
What was the origin/nature of much of the cult of personality surrounding the Tsars?
Religious.
What did Tsars believe their role was?
To set moral standards, the role which God had placed them on earth to complete.
What did every household have during the Tsarist period?
A ‘Red Corner’.
What is a ‘Red Corner’?
Corner of ikons of saints that supposedly produced ‘sacral energy’, showing the authority of the Church in people’s homes.
Where is there evidence that Lenin opposed his own cult of personality?
September 1918: “With great displeasure, I notice that my personality begins to exalt. It’s vexing and harmful.”
Who used the Leninist cult of personality after Lenin’s death?
Stalin.
What did Stalin sought to present himself as?
The only faithful discipline of Lenin and the continuer of his work.
What did Stalin act as?
The chief interpreter of Leninism.
Why was it easy for Stalin to establish himself as an autocratic leader?
Modern Russia had a history of autocratic power.
What was Stalin’s cult dependent on?
Lenin’s legacy - he falsified photographs and essentially re-wrote the past.
What did Stalinist propaganda do?
Placed everywhere, conditioning the people to see Stalin as infallible and God-like.
How was Stalinist propaganda made a part of people’s day-to-day lives?
His images were all around, there were icons of him in every home, marches and parades involving banners of his face.
What did Stalinist propaganda serve well in doing?
Masking the darker side of the regime, in bending the truth.
