Source: "Stalin's Cult Of Personality." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
"The Cult of Personality, as Khrushchev would call it many years later, was in full swing by the end of the 1930s. Stalin's control of the Communist Party and the Soviet state were incontestable, and at his behest historians rewrote party history to make him a central figure. Although this implied no distortion of the truth for recent history, it demanded gross distortion of historical fact for the years of the Bolshevik underground, the Revolution, and the Civil War. The Short Course of the History of the Communist Party, an ostensibly objective work written by a collective of historians, was published in October 1938, and was soon a basic text of Stalinism that sold forty million copies throughout the world. Others beyond the long arm of Soviet law tipped their hats to Stalin, including Time Magazine, which made him its Man of the Year for 1939.
The vitriol of the cult of personality was inspired by a pleiade of leading revolutionaries whose own careers had once eclipsed Stalin. Lev Trotsky had been long exiled from the Soviet Union; and he seemed lucky in 1936 when his former comrades and rivals Grigorii Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev had been tried and shot. In March 1938 it was the turn of Nikolai Bukharin and others, who were tried and shot for participation in the so-called Anti-Soviet Bloc of Rightists and Trotskyites. The often bizarre accusations, reflecting the revisionist agenda of Stalinist history, were terribly unjust; but it must be noted that none of the victims had ever spoken out when earlier trials had devoured similarly innocent people.
The idealized figure of Stalin represented in mass culture also spoke to a perceived need for vigorous leadership in Soviet society. Thus Stalin often appeared in a magnetic aura of charisma that went far beyond his political role, leaving many of the Soviet citizens lucky enough to meet him mesmerized. The charisma could also be transferred to other exemplary Soviet citizens, whose accomplishments were held up to others and, with the institution of the Stalin Prizes in December 1939, richly rewarded. The passion for rewriting history so prevalent in 1939 even inspired the rehabilitation of historical figures who had once exerted decisive leadership analogous to Stalin (Peter the Great, for instance), but whose politics had once barred them from the Soviet pantheon."
Source: Von Geldern, James. "1939: Cult of Personality." Cult of Personality. Seventeen Moments in Soviet History, 9 Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
External Links1. Cult of Personality Forms
2. Princeton University: Cult of Personality
Hugo Chavez and Joseph Stalin similarities
Coincidentally, a more recent example of totalitarianism would be Hugo Chavez. He ruled Venezuela with an iron fist. He aimed to withhold death from cancer and killed many in the process. He happened to die on 60th anniversary of Stalin's death on March 5. He left his country in immense poverty. It was more difficult to use propaganda in a time of technology, but he tried very much.
Source: Glitch. "Was Hugo Chavez a Hologram of Joseph Stalin? - Voxxi." Voxxi. VOXXI, 6 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
Source for picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_propaganda
It was interesting to learn about Stalin and how he portrayed himself as a parental figure to his country and viewed as a great leader.
ReplyDeleteIt was thought-provoking of you to compare Stalin to Chavez. Propaganda was obviously very important to Stalin and was crucial to his longevity as a leader. I think it is usually an important part of any leaders rule. The United States freedom of press prevents any political leaders from getting too out of control, and taking that right away allowed Stalin to spin any story he wanted. Similarly, even before WWII Hitler used propaganda and the 1936 Olympics to make Germany seem like it was a wonderful, wealthy and humane society. This made it harder to justify attacking Germany. The spread of propaganda and limitation of free speech in Russia is the reason why books like One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich did not get published sooner, thus keeping the gulags elusive to the outside world.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning wows really cool how you explained the acts that he used to make himself look like a paternal figure. "No dissent allowed, No outside influence, and No free press. No dissent allowed made it so that all must show faithful loyalty, No outside influence prohibited all outside news that may put Stalin down, and No free press limited the people's voice." These were all clearly ideologies that would not be accepted in today's society and they all had negative connotations. It is now obvious how Stalin was able to control the media, because he was the media due to the lack of freedom of speech that he allowed.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Stalin did terrible things you have to admire his political skill and power of manipulation. It was interesting how he was able to make him self seem like a caring loving, father-figure when in reality he was so cruel. I liked how you compared Stalin to Hugo Chavez because it really illustrated your point and showed how government propaganda came leave a country in ruin. "Thus Stalin often appeared in a magnetic aura of charisma that went far beyond his political role, leaving many of the Soviet citizens lucky enough to meet him mesmerized." This quote interested me because it shows how easy it was for Stalin to take on different roles or personalities depending on the situation and who he needed to please. It shocked me to hear that people would be killed on the spot for saying anything against Stalin. It's amazing how different things are for us today with freedom of speech and press.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting and really showed how Stalin had a skill for manipulating people and their views. I really liked how you compared Chavez and Stalin when illustrating your point. This comparison really showed how a corrupt leader can use propaganda to their advantage and leave a country in a state of complete instability. I really liked how you gave examples of how Stalin portrayed himself as this paternal figure and how people really believed that he had a good side. Through all of this bias propaganda I learned more about the restrictions of speech and how people could not say anything negative about Stalin and his way of rule and how much this contrasts with our freedom of speech today.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the cult of personality mentioned multiple times in class, but never knew what it was or what it was about. Your blog post provided me with a clear understanding of what it was and how it is related to Stalin. The propaganda that Stalin used frightens me, and it frightens me even more that the people of Russia bought into it. I really enjoyed the video and how it showed all of the propaganda that was shown, it was interesting to see the exact illustrations that Stalin used in his campaigns. I also liked how you compared Stalin to a modern day figure, it helped me understand Stalin's personality better. From this blog post I can conclude that Stalin was very good at deceiving others, which helped strengthen his power over Russia.
ReplyDeleteIvan was probably in the Gulags during the time period that Stalin was using his propaganda to keep the Russians in the dark about his truly evil actions.
Deletethis really makes me amazed how much power somebody like Stalin has. It makes me think of people like him today such as Kim Jong Un who use their "cult of personality' to deceive people everyday. It is amazing how power can corrupt someone so much. It makes me realize what power is capable of in the wrong hands. Stalin was able to just make the three acts easily and use propaganda to make himself look superior then everyone else.
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