Personality Cults Flashcards
What was the purpose of Stalin’s Cult of Personality?
- Emphasise Stalin’s right to lead
- Create a figure Soviet citizens would trust
- Deflect blame for government short comings to local leaders
What was the Myth of Two Leaders?
A myth created by Stalin that he and Lenin had been a duumvirate and together had masterminded the Revolution, victory in the Civil War and establishment of the Union.
How was history rewritten to help perpetuate the Myth of Two Leaders?
- 1938: Publication of two histories of the Communist Party edited by Stalin
- Socialist Realist paintings depicted Stalin and Lenin hard at work together
- Photos were altered to remove Trotsky and other opponents
What image did Klutsis produce to help perpetuate the idea that Stalin was Lenin’s natural successor?
He created the image of Marx, Lenin and Stalin together facing the same way, as if to indicate that Stalin was the next phase in the same tradition
What painting did Shegal create to demonstrate Stalin’s reverence for Lenin?
Leader, Teacher and Friend
What was the significance of the “vozhd”?
Stalin was often referred to as the vozhd, meaning leader. It had no legal significance meaning its authority had no key limits.
What was the Generalissimo?
Generalissimo is the term generally ascribed to Stalin after the GPW to emphasise his role as a military leader. The military rank was made especially for him and he got to design his own uniform!
How did Khrushchev use the Cult of Lenin?
He revived it under the slogan “Lenin Lives!” and began depicting him as a fun, approachable man everyone could look up to. The greater purpose of this was to distract people from Stalinism which had been characterised by terror.
What were some of the claims made by the propaganda surrounding Khrushchev?
- He was a disciple of Lenin committed to finishing the job he started
- He was personally responsible for the success of the Space Programme and the Virgin Lands Scheme
- He was the great reformer perfecting the Soviet system
- He was an authority on literature, art, science, industry and agriculture (basically everything)
How did the ambitious claims made by Khrushchev’s propaganda end up backfiring?
- When the Virgin Lands Scheme began to fail he was broadly seen as responsible as he had billed it as his master plan
- The failure of the Corn Campaign called in to question his expertise
- He had to back out of the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, undermining the claims of him being the great statesman
What were the four key aspects of the Cult of Brezhnev which proved his fitness for office?
- He was a great Leninist
- He was a military hero with 60 medals to his name
- He was dedicated to securing world peace
- He was a man of the people, coming from a humble background and having worked as an engineer in steel before taking to politics
How did Brezhnev get the public on board with his Cult of Personality?
he threw public festivals on key dates like the 50th anniversary of the Revolution. His speeches dominated such events and acted as a good photo opportunity.
What problem emerged with the Cult of Brezhnev?
His claims were exposed as untrue. People in the military knew his role wasn’t as big as he claimed; young people could see he wasn’t pro peace from the fact he kept expanding the military and the luxurious lifestyle of the Brezhnev family undercut his “humble origins” story.
