Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- List of abbreviations and archive references
- Glossary and notes on the text
- Introduction
- PART I ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
- PART II POLITICS AND TERROR
- PART III THE LEADER CULT
- 9 The leader cult in official discourse
- 10 Affirmative representations of the leader and leader cult
- 11 Negative representations of the leader and leader cult
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - The leader cult in official discourse
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 March 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- List of abbreviations and archive references
- Glossary and notes on the text
- Introduction
- PART I ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
- PART II POLITICS AND TERROR
- PART III THE LEADER CULT
- 9 The leader cult in official discourse
- 10 Affirmative representations of the leader and leader cult
- 11 Negative representations of the leader and leader cult
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The adulation accorded to Stalin, many of his colleagues, and indeed outstanding individuals at all levels of Soviet society was one of the most striking aspects of Stalinist propaganda. This ‘cult of the individual’ emerged powerfully in the period 1933–4, contrasting dramatically with an earlier emphasis on the anonymous masses, classes, and party. At the apex of all these cults was that of Stalin. This chapter will provide an overview of the evolution of the leader cult in the propaganda of this period and explore the chief characteristics of the cult as ‘official culture’. It will concentrate on the cult of Stalin, since those of other leaders developed according to a pattern which was similar, but less intense.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT
The propaganda of the Stalin cult was never static. It developed from modest beginnings in 1929 to its gigantic proportions at the end of the 1940s. However, it was in the period 1934–41 when many of the fundamental characteristics of the cult were established. During this period, the intensity and emphasis of the cult changed quite markedly in accordance with the needs of the regime.
Although the genesis of the public cult of Stalin is generally dated to the occasion of his fiftieth birthday in December 1929, when effusive praise was heaped upon the leader by his colleagues, this was an exception to the rule. In this period, the emphasis was usually upon anonymous collective leadership.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Popular Opinion in Stalin's RussiaTerror, Propaganda and Dissent, 1934–1941, pp. 147 - 154Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1997