Government and propaganda under Stalin

Describe Stalin’s cult of personality

Cult of personality:

• By the 1930s, Stalin was promoted as Lenin’s true heir and the “Vozhd” (leader).

• Portraits, statues, and the renaming of cities (e.g. Tsaritsyn → Stalingrad, 1925) reinforced his omnipresent image.

Describe the control of culture

• Censorship tightened, allowing only socialist realism in art, literature, and film.

• Writers like Maxim Gorky glorified socialism

• cinema such as Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky promoted patriotism and vigilance against enemies.

Describe education reforms

• Literacy rates rose from 51% (1926) to 81% (1939).

• Schools emphasised technical skills, Russian nationalism, and loyalty to Stalin.

• History curricula were rewritten to elevate Stalin’s role.

Describe propaganda channels

• Radio, newspapers (e.g. Pravda), and mass rallies projected Stalin as a paternal, omniscient guide leading the USSR to progress.

• The saturation of messaging ensured little space for dissent.

Describe party control

• By the late 1930s, the Communist Party functioned as Stalin’s personal instrument.

• Rivals were purged, and the nomenklatura system rewarded loyalists with privileges, creating a class dependent on Stalin’s power.

Describe nationalism

While still invoking Marxism-Leninism, Stalin increasingly drew on Russian patriotism and historic heroes (e.g. Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great) to unify the USSR, particularly in the build-up to war.

Evaluate government and propaganda under Stalin

Stalin’s regime relied on a blend of coercion, propaganda, and cultural control.

The cult of personality and socialist realism created an atmosphere of adulation, while education and media ensured indoctrination.

Yet beneath the veneer of unanimity, this system depended on fear and conformity, making loyalty performative rather than genuine.