The cult of personality:
Stalin’s personal character – not strongly evident during his rise to power. He had little charisma and was often underrated by his rivals in the Party. The cult of personality – prompted by Stalin.
But – Stalin cult grew after his 50th birthday – December 1929 when leading Party members wrote articles praising him in Pravda.
Stalin cult – only fully established after 1933 – did not reach its height until after WW2.
Stalin was portrayed as:
An infallible leader – ‘all-knowing’ and ‘universal genius’
A sure guide – knew how to lead the USSR forward despite dangers on all sides
The successor to Marx, Engels and Lenin – giving the sense of a progression of great men who had brought socialist enlightenment to the Soviet people
A father figure – described as the ‘father of the nation’
A semi-religious leader – symbolised by titles such as ‘the shining sun of humanity’
A true Bolshevik – living simply with no extravagance
Components of the cult of personality:
Stalin’s cult of personality was built up in different ways. Stalin’s own role in developing the cult is clear, though he revelled in it, and could have stopped it if he wants to.
Infallibility: Cult portrayed Stalin as all-knowing infallible leader
Relationship to Lenin: Cult portrayed Stalin as the heir of Lenin, transferring features of the Lenin cult to Stalin
Propaganda: Paintings, poems, posters, slogans, sculptures glorified Stalin, while written works were educated to him and prefaced with acknowledgements of his genius
Patronage: Stalin’s inner circle were associated with the cult too, with cities and factories named after the
Tsarist symbolism: Cult borrowed he little father image associated with the tsars
Falsification of history – Stalin’s role in the pivotal events of Bolshevism was enlarged, while his rivals were downplayed, reimagined as enemies of the people or excised from books and photographs completely
Literature, the arts and socialist realism:
While Lenin had allowed creativity in the arts, as long as it was not counter revolutionary, Stalin took a different view. Literature and the arts were only valuable if the supported his view of specialist ideology.
From 1932, all writers had to belong to the Union of Soviet Writers. All artists and art critics had to belong to the Union of Artists. There were similar unions for musicians, filmmakers and sculptors.
These unions dictated what sort of literature and art were allowed. Anyone not following the guidelines risked exclusions, which meant no chance of their work being published, exhibited, performed or paid for.
Writers and other artis were require creating works that embedded ‘socialist realism’. This meant showing what Soviet life was moving towards in an ideal future. By depicting the socialist reality of the future, people would want to strive towards it.
The frame of reference for writers was laid down by Andrei Zhdanov in April 193 at the first Congress of the Union of Soviet Writers. Socialist realist works were expected to glorify the workers, especially communities working together and embracing new technology. Works were expected to be uplifting and optimistic.
One popular novel was Nikolai Ostrovsky’s How the Steel was Tempered. The novel is about the life of a young revolutionary who fights In the Civil War and then overcomes his health issues. Inspire others through his writings.
During the 1930s there was a renewed interest in Russian works from the nineteenth century, such as the authors Pushkin and Tolstoy. These were promoted to all the peoples of the USSR. This was partly to allow Soviet proletarians access to what had been bourgeois culture under tsarism.
Folk music and dance, and crafts were also celebrated, as Stalin was committed to promoting ‘national values.
Propaganda:
Soviet propaganda was seen as a way of educating Soviet workers and peasant about the ‘truths’ of Stalinism and the importance of building socialism. The state controlled all the media and used it all for propaganda.
Propaganda started in early life. Nurseries and schools were full of messages about the glories of communism. Pictures of Lenin and Stalin were prominent, there were communist youth groups, and textbooks and lessons glorified Soviet achievements.
Pavlik Morozov is a good example of youth propaganda. He was portrayed as a hero for denouncing his father to the NKVD for helping kulaks, and also for reporting that other peasants had been hoarding grain. He was then murdered by local kulaks. Soviet propaganda portrayed him as a martyr and his example was used to encourage young people to put the sate first, even over their families. One example of propaganda in education was the use of the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Short Course, which all students had to read and use in their work as the source of answers to all important questions. Ambitious Party members learned it by heart.
Stalinist campaigns depended on propaganda to create a buzz of enthusiasm. Aspiration and national pride. The Five-Year Plans relied heavily on propaganda.
Propaganda for workers focused on worker-hero’s such as Aleksei Stakhanov. This propaganda aimed to inspire workers to perform their targets. Statue of workers and peasants were erected.
Posters and murals were widely displayed showing achievements of the Soviet state warning about the dangers of the USSR’s enemies. Cinema and radio gave similar messages.
‘Talking Pictures’ became popular in the 1930s. Fictional films and newsreels ere a perfect vehicle for propaganda.
Despite the state’ complete control over the media, there is evidence f people rejecting or questioning its message:
Despite a huge propaganda campaign that accompanied collectivisation, many peasants resisted the process by slaughtering livestock. When enforced collectivisation was briefly relaxed in 1930, the parentage of collectivised houswholds dropped from 50 to 20`%.
The Communist Party archive contain many examples of letters from workers expressing their anger at the lack of adequate hoping, there being nothing to buy in the shops, and the corruption, favouritism and bribery they as amongst their managers at work.
There is evidence that Stakhanovites annoyed fellow workers because targets were increased as a result of their efforts, while mangers found Stakhanovites challenging because of the power it gave them to criticise working conditions.
Jokes, graffiti and poplar songs criticised the Five-Year Plans. For example, one song talked about the five-year plan in ten.