SOCIAL
Cult of Personality
Stalin created a cult of personality around himself in the Soviet Union in order to become a symbol of strong leadership to the Russians. According to his people, Stalin had become the Great Leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin wanted to become the focus of his citizens’ adoration and worship. He took pleasure in his pretentious titles that the people bestowed on him, including “Brilliant Genius of Humanity”, “Great Architect of Communism”, and “Father of Nations.” He also created the Stalin Peace Prize in his honor.
To perpetuate his image throughout the Soviet Union, Stalin had statues and busts of himself erected in town squares and the halls of public buildings. These monuments were meant to glorify Stalin, but they weren’t always accurate. Not wanting to harm his cult of personality, the statues depicted Stalin as a tall, well built man, when in truth he was a little over 5 feet 5 inches. His physical stature was exaggerated to evade any image of weakness. Towns and cities were also changed to bear the name of Stalin; some examples are Stalingrad, Stalinabad, and Stalinogorsk. So too were some factories, schools, military barracks, and agriculture factories.
Stalin was also the spotlight of Russian art, encompassing poetry, literature, music, film, and paintings. Artists would actually compete with one another in adulating Stalin, attributing him with god-like qualities. They also suggested in their works that Stalin single handedly won World War II.
Many people in Russia felt the need for a leader, similar to that in Germany and France. Because of their need and the constant propaganda, Stalin was now viewed as having organized the Bolshevik Party alongside Lenin, leading the Bolshevik Revolution, and victoriously commanding the Red Army in the Civil War. Stalin was praised in speeches and writings. Pravda, a Bolshevik Newspaper, described the man of steel as “deeper than the ocean, higher than the Himalayas, brighter than the sun” and as “the teacher of the universe.” The Russians were content with their leader, and were finally hopeful that the Soviet Union was leading the way to a “socialist paradise.”
Trotsky criticized the cult of personality Stalin built because it went against the core values of socialism and Bolshevism. This was due to the fact that it placed the individual above the class and party, and it didn’t allow for criticism of Stalin.
The cult of personality has proved victorious, since it still exists today in Russia. By many Russians, Stalin is still remembered as the man who led the country to victory in the Second World War and made the Soviet Union a superpower. His brutality is ignored, and the public views Stalin as the image he portrayed during his leadership. Photographs of Stalin are still visible all over Russia, in the back of taxis and trucks, and people still applaud for Stalin when an image of him appears on the movie screen.
Improvements and Services
While leading the Soviet Union, Stalin did grant his people social liberalizations. Surprisingly, girls and women benefited the most from his rule. Under the Soviet government, girls had an equal education and women had equal rights in employment. Many of Stalin’s policies towards women, improved lives for not only the women, but their families as well. Due to the rapid industrialization, there was a high demand for jobs, and produced major explanation in job opportunities for women.
Stalinist development also made major strides in healthcare. The leader’s policies allowed the Soviet people to have universal access to healthcare, therefore increasing the lifespan and quality of life for the typical citizen. For the first time because of Stalin’s regime, a generation was free from typhus, cholera, and malaria. Those infected by the diseases dropped by thousands, creating an increase in life spans by decades. Stalin also helped to make the first generation of women have access to prenatal care and give birth in the safety of a hospital.
Stalin also made the standard of living rise in the form of education. The generation of Stalin’s rule was the first near universally literate generation. This was due to the mass literary campaigns in the 1930s and from workers training, both initiated by Stalin.
Religion
Stalin’s place in the Russian Orthodox Church was never clear, at times he supported it, while other times he banished even the idea of God. Stalin almost eliminated the Church with the thousands of executions of nuns and priests during the Great Purges. But he brought the Church to the forefront of the picture once again, during World War II, where he used it as a patriotic organization.
The Russian Orthodox Church’s acknowledgment of their leader Stalin and the Soviet government, caused conflict. This was due to the fact that many of the Russian Orthodox Churches outside Russia didn’t agree with Stalin and his policies.
Culture
Stalin was a Russian nationalist and strongly promoted patriotism for the Soviet Union. He also extensively supported Russian history, national heroes, and the language, especially during the 1930s and 40s. Stalin’s rule allowed the later generations of foreigners to integrate more easily into Russian society. Cultures were united, and Stalin viewed the Russian natives as the elder brothers of the non-Russians.
Stalin established the style of Socialist Realism during his time in power. Paintings, music, sculptures, drama, and literature reflected this official style. The leader discouraged the previous revolutionary techniques, including expressionism, avant-garde, and abstract. Many famous figures in the Soviet Union were repressed and persecuted for their art, some examples being Isaac Babel and Alexei Tolstoy.
