The Birth of The Cult of Personality
"Comrades! We Communists are people of a special mold. We are made of special stuff. We are those who form the army of the great proletarian strategist, the army of Comrade Lenin...There is nothing higher than the title of member of the party whose founder and leader was Comrade Lenin." -Joseph Stalin1
On
January 21st
1924, Lenin died of heart related issues at the age of 53.1
Lenin's death provided Stalin with the opportunity to introduce a
cult of Leninism. Stalin's biographer, Robert C. Tucker, states that Stalin first had to build up a cult of personality around Lenin before he could build one up for himself.2 The aforementioned quote is taken from the oath Stalin recited at Lenin's graveside on January 26th
1924. According to historian Wolfgang Leonard, the oath contains, “in
its embryonic form, a good deal of what was to become typical of
Stalinism: the comparison of the party with an army, the
glorification of the leading role of the party; whose members were of
a 'special type' and molded 'of special stuff'; and the glorification
of one person (at this point still Lenin) as the leader.”3
Unlike Stalin, Lenin had rejected the glorification of his person.4 However, against his and his family's wishes, he was given a glorious funeral, embalmed, and buried inside a mausoleum for public viewing.5 Images of Lenin began to appear everywhere throughout the Soviet Union while his name graced “thousands of collective and state farms, libraries, newspapers, streets and cities.”6 Among the latter was St. Petersburg, the birthplace of the October Revolution, which was renamed Leningrad on January 26, 1924.7
Unlike Stalin, Lenin had rejected the glorification of his person.4 However, against his and his family's wishes, he was given a glorious funeral, embalmed, and buried inside a mausoleum for public viewing.5 Images of Lenin began to appear everywhere throughout the Soviet Union while his name graced “thousands of collective and state farms, libraries, newspapers, streets and cities.”6 Among the latter was St. Petersburg, the birthplace of the October Revolution, which was renamed Leningrad on January 26, 1924.7
Documentary Footage From Lenin's Funeral
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Stalin's Rise to Power
The Battle for Succession:
Before he died, Lenin failed to designate his successor; however public opinion favoured the idea that Leon Trotsky be appointed as his legatee. Lenin himself had began to harshly criticize Stalin after 1922 and in 1923 had even recommended that Stalin be removed from his position as General Secretary within the party.1 However, Lenin died before any real actions could be taken against Stalin. Lenin's sudden death assured Stalin's position within the government. Thus in 1924, with his biggest threat to ascendancy out of the way, Stalin began to maneuver his way into power.
In order to become head of the party, Stalin first had to discredit Trotsky in the eyes of the public. At the time of Lenin's death, Trotsky, who was traveling abroad, was headed toward the Black Sea; therefore he had no first hand knowledge of what was happening in Moscow at the time. Stalin had sent Trotsky a telegram informing him about Lenin's death as well as the funeral. However, in the telegram Stalin lied to Trotsky about the funeral date; he told him that the funeral would be held in two days therefore, since Trotsky wouldn't be able to make it back in time, that he might as well continue on with his trip. In reality the funeral was in three days, therefore Trotsky would have had enough time to return to Russia for Lenin's funeral. However, Trotsky believed Stalin and stayed abroad. Consequentially, Trotsky was criticized within Russia and abroad for not attending Lenin's funeral. The New York Times summed up Russia's dismay with the leader writing “Trotsky's failure to pay his last tribute to the dead leader horrified the people of Moscow as a wan of respect and good taste. It was, moreover, a political error of the first magnitude and dealt a fatal blow to Trotsky's prestige.” 2 Stalin's lying to Trotsky was but the first move in his anti-Trotsky campaign.
After Lenin's death, economic and ideological tensions within the government increased.3 These tensions resulted in the formation of two groups, the Left wing and the Right wing, within the government. Conflicting policy lines in the Bolshevik leadership over how to carry on with the Revolution was the main issue which divided the party. In keeping with Lenin's vision, the Left wing were adamant believers that Russia's socialist revolution could never have final success without support of socialist revolutions in one or several advanced countries.4 Therefore the Left, which was headed by Trotsky, was for the active encouragement of revolutions abroad.5 In contrast, the Right wing advocated for the implementation of Lenin's later theory; the gradual building of a socialism based on peasant cooperatives.6 Stalin, who according to Trotsky was a “centrist”, aligned himself with the Right in his quest for power.7 Tucker argues that although Stalin had aligned himself with the Right, he was ideologically a Leftist. Stalin capitalized on Trotsky's campaign for revolutions abroad to alienate him within the party and, by 1925, Trotsky was removed from his post as war commissar. Trotsky would later be expelled from the Politburo (the government) and in 1927 he was banned from the Communist Party. By 1928 he was exiled within the country and in January of 1929 was forced to leave Russia.
From Leninism To Stalinism: Towards the Cult of Stalin
With his main opponent gone, Stalin began to legitimize himself as the new leader of the Communist Party. Stalin employed an indirect strategy of cult building in that he built up his prestige and legitimized himself as a leader by portraying himself in the public eye as Lenin's rightful successor.8 According to Stalin's biographer, Robert C. Tucker, Stalin's fiftieth birthday in 1929 marked the birth of Stalin's cult of personality.9 Stalin first established himself as Lenin's rightful successor through his claim that they had similar philosophical ideals. Stalin promoted Lenin's primacy in philosophy as a vehicle for his own claim to a similar noteworthiness.10 In positioning Lenin as a supreme philosophical authority, Stalin put forth the notion that this authority transcended to Lenin's successor. According to Tucker, the cult of Stalin as Communism's first philosopher in succession to Marx, Engels, and Lenin had now been founded. Together, this holy quartet of philosophers became the symbolic centrepiece of what would soon emerge as Stalinist thought and culture. By placing himself within this 'holy' quartet of philosophers, Stalin emerged as the authoritative figure within Soviet culture; he became the designator of “truth” and was deemed a “hunter of heresy”within Soviet culture.11 Soon, anyone with an independence of mind, regardless if they were a devout Communist or not, soon became unacceptable.12This notion, of Stalin as the legitimate voice of Soviet culture, gained prominence in the early Thirties with the enforcement of socialist realism in the art world.
After establishing himself within the realm of Marxist philosophy, Stalin then took to rewriting the party's history. 13 When Stalin rewrote the party's history in the Thirties, he depicted Lenin as an iconographic figure; a vozhd' (leader) who was beyond limitation and beyond criticism.14 In doing so, Stalin implicitly positioned the successor vozhd', himself, for similar treatment.15 The Bolshevik party's actual history was falsified; it was rewritten to fit Stalin's idealized image of the “real Bolshevik”,an image which Tucker argues revolved around a revolutionary rectitude which represented Stalin's self-concept and who's logical groundwork was laid out in Stalin's letter to Proletarian Revolution.16 The aggrandizement of Stalin required the twisting of the truth and falsification of historical fact. Stalin rewrote history to emphasize the glorification of Lenin and he positioned himself as Lenin's 'right-hand' man. Stalin, who had asserted himself as premier party historian, and his glorifiers set out rewriting history in accordance with Stalin's canons and “in a manner calculated to accentuate his role and merits in the party's revolutionary past,” while at the same time served the dual purpose of discrediting his enemies.17 Stalin was now portrayed as as sharing in Lenin's exploits early on, he was depicted as a man Lenin leaned on for counsel and support at key points in the development of the Revolution and afterwards; furthermore his role in the Revolution was rewritten so as to eclipse Trotsky (Trotsky had played a key role in the October Revolution and in the Civil War as the leader of the Red Army).18 However, the rise of the Stalin's cult did not eclipse Leninism, rather it just modified it to include a transitionary dual personality cult, that of Lenin and Stalin.
Stalin was the master builder of his cult, however it was through his glorifies (historians and artists who churned out Stalinist propaganda) and censorship that he gained legitimacy within the public and the party. Stalin had commission various paintings which would depict fictional historical situations between Lenin and Stalin from the years 1917-1924. In these paintings, Stalin was always at Lenin's side. Aleksei Vasiliev's "Lenin and Stalin" illustrates this.
The Battle for Succession:
Before he died, Lenin failed to designate his successor; however public opinion favoured the idea that Leon Trotsky be appointed as his legatee. Lenin himself had began to harshly criticize Stalin after 1922 and in 1923 had even recommended that Stalin be removed from his position as General Secretary within the party.1 However, Lenin died before any real actions could be taken against Stalin. Lenin's sudden death assured Stalin's position within the government. Thus in 1924, with his biggest threat to ascendancy out of the way, Stalin began to maneuver his way into power.
In order to become head of the party, Stalin first had to discredit Trotsky in the eyes of the public. At the time of Lenin's death, Trotsky, who was traveling abroad, was headed toward the Black Sea; therefore he had no first hand knowledge of what was happening in Moscow at the time. Stalin had sent Trotsky a telegram informing him about Lenin's death as well as the funeral. However, in the telegram Stalin lied to Trotsky about the funeral date; he told him that the funeral would be held in two days therefore, since Trotsky wouldn't be able to make it back in time, that he might as well continue on with his trip. In reality the funeral was in three days, therefore Trotsky would have had enough time to return to Russia for Lenin's funeral. However, Trotsky believed Stalin and stayed abroad. Consequentially, Trotsky was criticized within Russia and abroad for not attending Lenin's funeral. The New York Times summed up Russia's dismay with the leader writing “Trotsky's failure to pay his last tribute to the dead leader horrified the people of Moscow as a wan of respect and good taste. It was, moreover, a political error of the first magnitude and dealt a fatal blow to Trotsky's prestige.” 2 Stalin's lying to Trotsky was but the first move in his anti-Trotsky campaign.
After Lenin's death, economic and ideological tensions within the government increased.3 These tensions resulted in the formation of two groups, the Left wing and the Right wing, within the government. Conflicting policy lines in the Bolshevik leadership over how to carry on with the Revolution was the main issue which divided the party. In keeping with Lenin's vision, the Left wing were adamant believers that Russia's socialist revolution could never have final success without support of socialist revolutions in one or several advanced countries.4 Therefore the Left, which was headed by Trotsky, was for the active encouragement of revolutions abroad.5 In contrast, the Right wing advocated for the implementation of Lenin's later theory; the gradual building of a socialism based on peasant cooperatives.6 Stalin, who according to Trotsky was a “centrist”, aligned himself with the Right in his quest for power.7 Tucker argues that although Stalin had aligned himself with the Right, he was ideologically a Leftist. Stalin capitalized on Trotsky's campaign for revolutions abroad to alienate him within the party and, by 1925, Trotsky was removed from his post as war commissar. Trotsky would later be expelled from the Politburo (the government) and in 1927 he was banned from the Communist Party. By 1928 he was exiled within the country and in January of 1929 was forced to leave Russia.
From Leninism To Stalinism: Towards the Cult of Stalin
With his main opponent gone, Stalin began to legitimize himself as the new leader of the Communist Party. Stalin employed an indirect strategy of cult building in that he built up his prestige and legitimized himself as a leader by portraying himself in the public eye as Lenin's rightful successor.8 According to Stalin's biographer, Robert C. Tucker, Stalin's fiftieth birthday in 1929 marked the birth of Stalin's cult of personality.9 Stalin first established himself as Lenin's rightful successor through his claim that they had similar philosophical ideals. Stalin promoted Lenin's primacy in philosophy as a vehicle for his own claim to a similar noteworthiness.10 In positioning Lenin as a supreme philosophical authority, Stalin put forth the notion that this authority transcended to Lenin's successor. According to Tucker, the cult of Stalin as Communism's first philosopher in succession to Marx, Engels, and Lenin had now been founded. Together, this holy quartet of philosophers became the symbolic centrepiece of what would soon emerge as Stalinist thought and culture. By placing himself within this 'holy' quartet of philosophers, Stalin emerged as the authoritative figure within Soviet culture; he became the designator of “truth” and was deemed a “hunter of heresy”within Soviet culture.11 Soon, anyone with an independence of mind, regardless if they were a devout Communist or not, soon became unacceptable.12This notion, of Stalin as the legitimate voice of Soviet culture, gained prominence in the early Thirties with the enforcement of socialist realism in the art world.
After establishing himself within the realm of Marxist philosophy, Stalin then took to rewriting the party's history. 13 When Stalin rewrote the party's history in the Thirties, he depicted Lenin as an iconographic figure; a vozhd' (leader) who was beyond limitation and beyond criticism.14 In doing so, Stalin implicitly positioned the successor vozhd', himself, for similar treatment.15 The Bolshevik party's actual history was falsified; it was rewritten to fit Stalin's idealized image of the “real Bolshevik”,an image which Tucker argues revolved around a revolutionary rectitude which represented Stalin's self-concept and who's logical groundwork was laid out in Stalin's letter to Proletarian Revolution.16 The aggrandizement of Stalin required the twisting of the truth and falsification of historical fact. Stalin rewrote history to emphasize the glorification of Lenin and he positioned himself as Lenin's 'right-hand' man. Stalin, who had asserted himself as premier party historian, and his glorifiers set out rewriting history in accordance with Stalin's canons and “in a manner calculated to accentuate his role and merits in the party's revolutionary past,” while at the same time served the dual purpose of discrediting his enemies.17 Stalin was now portrayed as as sharing in Lenin's exploits early on, he was depicted as a man Lenin leaned on for counsel and support at key points in the development of the Revolution and afterwards; furthermore his role in the Revolution was rewritten so as to eclipse Trotsky (Trotsky had played a key role in the October Revolution and in the Civil War as the leader of the Red Army).18 However, the rise of the Stalin's cult did not eclipse Leninism, rather it just modified it to include a transitionary dual personality cult, that of Lenin and Stalin.
Stalin was the master builder of his cult, however it was through his glorifies (historians and artists who churned out Stalinist propaganda) and censorship that he gained legitimacy within the public and the party. Stalin had commission various paintings which would depict fictional historical situations between Lenin and Stalin from the years 1917-1924. In these paintings, Stalin was always at Lenin's side. Aleksei Vasiliev's "Lenin and Stalin" illustrates this.
In Vasiliev's painting, a pensive Lenin is seen listening attentively to Stalin. This painting connotes the notion that Stalin was indeed Lenin's right hand man; furthermore it positions Stalin as an authoritative figure in that it depicts Lenin seeking advice from Stalin. According to art historian Gleb Prokhorov, Stalin's military jacket and Lenin's 'modest suit' were re-occurring themes within Soviet paintings which served as identification markers meant to reinforce particular ideologies. (Gleb Prokhorov, Art Under Socialist Realism: Soviet Painting 1930-1950, (Roseville East: Craftsman House, 1995),54.) In this case, Stalin's military jacket depicts him as a strong and patriotic leader whereas Lenin's modest suit reinforces the notion of him as the "original Bolshevik", a man of the people.
Above are two renditions of Konstantin Youn's painting First Appearance of Lenin at a meeting in Smolny, the Petrograd Soviet on Oct.25, 1917. The painting on the left hand side was commissioned in 1927,the one on the right hand side was done in 1935. In the painting on the left hand side, many party leaders are visible, including Trostky. In the painting on the right hand side, only Stalin, Uritzky, and Molotov are visible. Paintings like this illustrate how history was 'rewritten' not only in textbooks, but also on canvas.
Photographs, like paintings, were altered as well. In this photograph Nikolai Yezhov, a member of Stalin's committee has been photoshopped out. He and Stalin had a falling out in 1939 and was later arrested and executed.
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Trokhimenko's painting depicts Stalin as the leader of organizer of the October Revolution. However in reality it was Lenin (with the help of Trotsky) who organized the October Revolution.
Images of Lenin, such as this statue, often re-occur in paintings of Stalin. The omnipresent presence of Lenin further legitimizes Stalin's position of authority since it reaffirms the notion that Stalin was Lenin's 'right hand man' and his rightfully appointed successor.
Footnotes:
Quote
1.Wolfgang Leonhard, “The Bolshevik Revolution Turns 70,” Foreign Affairs 66, no.2 (winter 1987), 389.
Section One:
1. Robert C. Tucker, "The Rise of Stalin's Personality Cult,"The American Historical Review 84, no.2 (April 1979), 351.
2.Wolfgang Leonhard, “The Bolshevik Revolution Turns 70,” Foreign Affairs 66, no.2 (winter 1987), 389.
3. James von Geldern, “1924:Death of Lenin, Lenin's Death and the Birth of the Lenin Cult,”Seventeen Moments in Soviet History, accessed April 4, 2014. http://soviethistory.macalester.edu/index.phppage=subject&show=&SubjectID=1924death&ArticleID=&Year=1924
4. Leonhard, “The Bolshevik Revolution Turns 70,” 391.
5.Ibid.
6. Von Geldern, "1924:Death of Lenin."
7.Ibid.
Section Two: Stalin's Rise to Power
1.Robert H. McNeal, “Lenin's Attack on Stalin: Review and Reappraisal,”American Slavic and East European Review, 18, n. 3 (Oct., 1959), 303.
2. Alex De Jonge,Stalin and the Shaping of the Soviet Union (New York: Morrow, 1986), 183.
3. Ibid, 199.
4. Robert C. Tucker, Stalin in Power: the Revolution from Above, 1928-1941,(New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1990), 39.
5.Ibid,40.
6.Ibid, 39.
7.Ibid.
8. Tucker, "The Rise of Stalin's Personality Cult,"351.
9.Ibid, 349.
10.Ibid, 352.11.Ibid.
12.Ibid.
13.Ibid.
14.Ibid, 356.
15.Ibid.
16.Ibid, 358. For more on the letter see John Barber, “Stalin's Letter to the editors of proletarskaya revolyutsiya,” Soviet Studies 28 (1976):21-41.
17.Ibid, 364.
18.Ibid.