The development of the Stalin cult Flashcards
When did the cult of Stalin begin to grow rapidly?
From December 1929 after Stalin’s fiftieth birthday celebrations - be became the leader who inspired confidence in a time of rapid change
Every new initiative was presented as the work of the all knowing leader, what else began to happen?
Portraits were produced showing Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin in continuous progression, bringing enlightenment to the Russian people
Paintings, poems, posters and sculptures were produced to glorify Stalin’s role as the mighty leader / father of the nation / shining sun / universal genius
When was the cult fully established?
1933-39 but it didn’t reach its height until after the second world war
What was published in 1938?
The History of the All-Union Communist Party was published as the main historical textbook for all educational education
In this Stalin assumed a major role in the October revolution and subsequent civil war while Trotsky and other old Bolsheviks were portrayed as enemies of the people or given minor roles
What was done to photographs?
They were doctored to remove Stalin’s enemies (in an attempt to expunge them from the historical record) and show Stalin at the side of Lenin - History became the history of communist success
How many copies had the book sold in the SU by 1948?
34 million
What effect did the cult have and why did people support him?
Although ‘manufactured’ It showed the strength of the support he acquired. Some praised him as they benefited from his rule or hoped to in the future
However for many it was an emotional attachment that reflected the tradition of loyalty to the leader (just as the peasantry had showed unwavering support for the Tsar) Stalin became the father of the people
What did some peasants and workers do?
Created their own ‘red corner’ of the great leaders in their homes, in the same way they may have created a saints’ corner in Tsarist times
What was Stalin’s role in the development of the cult?
Ambiguous - it has been claimed that he did not encourage it and it wasn’t of his own making but at the same time he did little to stop it
His successor Nikita Khrushchev revealed in 1956 when Stalin read a pre-publication of the official short biography of his life he insisted that it be revised to praise his qualities and achievements even more
What had been Lenin’s view on art and how did Stalin’s differ?
While Lenin had personally been a traditionalist, freedom of expression was encouraged in the 1920’s provide that art wasn’t used to express counter-revolutionary sentiments
Stalin viewed cultural pursuits in the way he viewed propaganda, literature, art, architecture, music, theatre etc were only considered valuable and legitimate if they supported socialist ideology - art for its own sake had no place in the SU - creativity of the 20’s gave way to conformity of the 30’s
What happened with art from 1932 and why?
All writers had to belong to the Union of Soviet Writers while painters and art critics were required to join the Union of Artists. Similar bodies were established for musicians, film maker etc - allowed control over what was created and who could create as no membership meant no opportunity for commissions or the sale of work
Individual expression deemed politically suspect
What did the new norms require the adherence to the doctrine of?
‘Socialist Realism’ - according to the writers union this meant ‘the truthful, historically concrete representation of reality in all its revolutionary development, or - all writers and other artists were not to represent Soviet life exactly as it was at that time but to show what it might become in the future
Literature and art became the media by which citizens learned that the march to communism was inevitable
Who was the frame of reference of writers laid down by and what was the framework? (applied to all forms of art)
Andrei Zhdanov in April 1934 - at the First Congress of the Union of Soviet Writers - works were expected to glorify the working man and particularly communities working together and embracing new technology. The messages conveyed were to be positive, optimistic and uplifting - one popular novel was Nikolai Ostrovsky’s How the Steel was Tempered, with a happy ending
What was the transformation of Moscow that epitomised socialist realism in architecture?
Lenin’s mausoleum shrine on the Red Square was in the shadow of the Kremlin and on the Kremlin in 1935, five red stars replaced the imperial eagles which had been removed
The new Moscow Metro also opened in 1935 had stations of ‘palaces of light’ symbols of victorious socialism. mosaics, stained glass panels etc were designed to inspire pride
What was the grandest design of all but one that was never completed?
A ‘palace of the soviets’ , it was intended as the tallest building in the world, topped with a gigantic statue of Lenin
