The cult of personality

Stalin dominated every aspect of Soviet life and was the embodiment of the nation itself

• The Communist Party became indistinguishable from Stalin himself as a person
• Communism was no longer a set of theories: it was whatever Stalin said or did
• Stalin's picture began to appear everywhere; Stalin protested in private that he did not seek the glorification he received, but he made no effort to stop it

Propaganda

• The cult of personality was imposed from above; the image of Stalin as a hero and savour of the Soviet people was manufactured
• It was a product of the Communist Party machine, which controlled all the main forms of information

Worship of Stalin

• Dsepite the Soviet attack on the Church, the religious sense of the Russian people remained and this was exploited by the authorities
• Traditional worship translated easily into the new regime and Stalin became…