Stalin's Cult of Personality

Read "Stalin's Cult of Personality" Additional material may be found in the Stalin Notes: Follow "The Cult of Personality" link.

1. Does the fact that images of Stalin appeared everywhere, as described by Steinbeck in Source 14.8, prove that Stalin attracted genuine adulation?
I think that the fact that Stalin's image was everywhere doesn't mean that everyone admired him and looked up to him. Since the country was in a state of terror, the Russian citizens were forced into looking up to Stalin, because if they didn't they would be punished. But then when the entire country was surrounded by the "reassuring" face of Stalin, and many of the citizens started to believe that he actually was a good person and then they looked up to him. Stalin gave the Russian people a sense of confidence in such bad times.

2. Describe the various devices used to establish and spread the cult of Stalin.
Paintings, poetry and sculptures having to do with Stalin were everywhere. Making Stalin look like he is one of the people by showing him marching alongside workers or in the fields with peasants, everyone could relate to him. Showing how happy children were because of Stalin made everyone like Stalin. Later, posters depict Stalin as more of a superior and this shows that he is powerful and a good leader, so the citizens would look up to him.


3. Account for the relative success of the cult - why do you think it worked with the Russian people?
I think it worked beacuse Russia was in such bad conditions with the purges and the terror that the Russian people needed something or someone to "know" would always be there for them. Stalin was portrayed as a man who would fix the country and make everyone happy, which is just what they needed at the time, so they believed it.

4. What conclusions can you reach about whether the adulation Stalin received was genuine?
Many people did admire Stalin, but I think that most of it was in fear, after he started the purges. If they showed that they were loyal to Stalin, even if they really weren't, they were less likely to be seen as an opposer and they'd cover it up. There were people who thought that it was ridiculous, but once the purges started, they had to suppress their beliefs in order to stay alive. I think that much of the admiration was just in fear, but perhaps as Stalin surrounded everyone in Russia, some were "brainwashed" into actually believing he would solve everything.