stalin's cult of personality

How was Stalin primarily portrayed in propaganda immediately after Lenin's death (1924-1929)?

As Lenin's most faithful pupil and disciple, assuming a modest image as a hard-working servant of the party.

In what year did the town of Tsaritsyn change its name to Stalingrad?

1925.

When did the 'full-blown' cult of Stalin really get underway?

Around 1933-1934, following the perceived successes of the First Five-Year Plan.

What Russian term, meaning 'The Leader,' was used to describe Stalin from the mid-1930s?

Vozhd.

What was the purpose of the cult during the 'Great Turn' and the Terror of the 1930s?

To provide a sense of confidence and solidity; the image of a 'firm hand at the helm' reassured people bewildered by rapid social disruption.

What slogan was mandatory in Soviet nurseries regarding Stalin?

'Thank you, Comrade Stalin, for my happy childhood.'

How did the style of Stalin's portraits change from the early 1930s to the late 1930s?

They shifted from showing him active among the people to portraying him in 'god-like solitude,' detached and superior.

What was 'Socialist Realism'?

The official artistic doctrine after 1934 that required all art to be simple, realistic, and designed to glorify the Soviet future and the leader.

What was the 'Short Course' published in 1938?

The definitive Soviet history text that distorted the past to show Stalin as the chief hero of the Revolution and demoted rivals like Trotsky.

How did the state handle historical photographs during the cult's peak?

They were systematically amended to add Stalin into scenes with Lenin or airbrush out purged figures like Trotsky and Kamenev.

In what way did Stalin's cult mirror the relationship Russians had with the Tsars?

He was seen as a 'traditional defender' or father figure; people sent him millions of petitions asking for help against local officials.

When did the cult of Stalin reach its absolute peak?

At the end of the 1940s, following the victory in the Second World War.

How was Stalin's 70th birthday celebrated in Moscow?

A giant portrait of Stalin was suspended over the city and illuminated at night by a battery of searchlights.

Who attacked the 'cult of the personality' in a 'Secret Speech' in 1956?

Nikita Khrushchev, at the 20th Party Congress.