Stalin and the cult of personality Flashcards
What was fundamental about the Communist party by the establishment of Stalins reign
-The communist party became indistinguishable from
Stalin himself as a person
-Communism was no longer a set of theories, it was no
longer Leninism
-It was whatever Stalin said and did
-Soviet communism was Stalin
How was Stalin presented to the people
-From the early 1930’s onwards, Stalin’s picture began to
appear everywhere. Newspapers, books and films, No
matter what their theme.
-Every achievement of the USSR was credited to Stalin
-Soviet communism fundamentally became personalised
around him
What role did Khrushchev have in the cult of personality
-It was Khrushchev held a huge responsibility in the
promotion of Stalin
-During the trial of Kamanev and Zinoviev, Khrushchev cursed the defendents and went on proclaiming Stalin
-‘Stalin is hope, Stalin is expectation; He is the beacon that guides all progressive mankind’
-He was the first to coin the term Stalinism
How did Stalin take advantage of the religious nature of Russians in achieving the cult of personality
-Despite the Soviet attack on the church, the powerful
religious sense of the Russian people remained and it
was cleverly exploited by the authorities
-Traditional worship, with its veneration of the saints, its
icons, prayers and incantations, translated easily into
the new regime
-Stalin became an icon
-Stalin’s birthday each December, became the greatest
celebration of the Soviet calendar
-Long parades in Red Square of marching troops, rolling
tanks and applauding workers
-Children learnt from their earliest moments to venerate
Stalin as the provider of all good things, similar to how the bible is presented in other nations
How was the Konsomol exploited in the spread of Stalinist propaganda
-The Konsomol was a movement which had begun in Lenin’s time, was created as formal body in 1926
-Open to those aged between 14-28
-It pledged itself totally to Stalin and the party
-Membership from 2 million in 1927 to 10 million in 1940
-Konsomol members were among the most enthusiastic
supporters of the FYP’s, as they proved going off in
their thousands to build new industrial cities such as
Magnitogorsk
Was Stalin truly popular in hindsight
- In real terms it is hard to determine how popular Stalin
was
-The applause that greeted every appearance was more
likely to be a matter of prudence as of real affection
-Any comrades or individuals who had spoken out of
line quickly ended up in gulags
-The intense political correctness that prevailed required
that Stalin be publicly referred to as the faultless leader
and inspirer of the nation
