I'm not sure many people understand what life was like for an Imperial Russian peasant. Serfdom existed up until the 1860s, and as best I can tell, it was an institution similar to U.S. Southern slavery. But the Russian serfs were not even kidnapped foreigners. They were native people often treated just as bad as U.S. slaves- perhaps worse.
I have read stories about the children of Imperial Russian gentry beating peasants and burning their houses as entertainment. Imagine what it must have been like to grow up with that sort of thing as your heritage.
It makes something like Communism look rather good by comparison. The communists used the injustices of the old system as an excuse to establish their own barbaric rule. That's my theory about why the people of the USSR liked Stalinism so much.
Flak
The cult of personality etc means people feared the man. The USSR needed him to function as he was so integral to almost all high level decision making. When he died no one knew what the hell to do. I'm sure more than a few people thought it and discussed it but he had so many people wanting to be loyal to him so as to avoid being killed themselves that even your long time friends and colleagues might grass you up if you discussed the possibility to removing him. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by WOLFMondo:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Blood_Splat:
After killing many of his own officers, generals, and scientist. Did it ever occur to any of the Russian people that maybe we need to take this ******* out? It's amazing how much death one man with power can cause.
Fear = State Oppression
Cult of Personality = Similar to hero worship, the leaders appearing as god-like infallible rulers. Liked by the people and seen as their savior. This allows them to get away with State Oppression. It is Charismatic Leadership at its most extreme.
A good starting point to learn more about what a Cult of Personality actually is would be to read "The Hitler Myth" by Ian Kershaw
The cult of personality etc means people feared the man. The USSR needed him to function as he was so integral to almost all high level decision making. When he died no one knew what the hell to do. I'm sure more than a few people thought it and discussed it but he had so many people wanting to be loyal to him so as to avoid being killed themselves that even your long time friends and colleagues might grass you up if you discussed the possibility to removing him. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by Aimail101:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WOLFMondo:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Blood_Splat:
After killing many of his own officers, generals, and scientist. Did it ever occur to any of the Russian people that maybe we need to take this ******* out? It's amazing how much death one man with power can cause.
Fear = State Oppression
Cult of Personality = Similar to hero worship, the leaders appearing as god-like infallible rulers. Liked by the people and seen as their savior. This allows them to get away with State Oppression. It is Charismatic Leadership at its most extreme.
A good starting point to learn more about what a Cult of Personality actually is would be to read "The Hitler Myth" by Ian Kershaw </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
He was the cause of the state oppression. Everything the state did during his years of rule was because he dictated it. He wasn't like Hitler who had a load of croneys do allot of the 'real' work. This guy was a workaholic and literally reviewed everything the party did.
That's a rather questionable statement, p1ngu. If anything Stalin nearly botched WW2 a few times with his meddling (Kiew 41, winter offensive 41/42, Crimea 42, start of "Fall Blau" mid-1942, counter-offensive across the Mius in early 1943 ...). He was a politician first and foremost and the longer the war lasted the more he realized that he'd have to leave the tactical and strategical details to the professionals around him. Ironic how Hitler's influence on the war grew while Stalin reduced his own and how much that affected the actual operations.
The cult of personality etc means people feared the man. The USSR needed him to function as he was so integral to almost all high level decision making. When he died no one knew what the hell to do. I'm sure more than a few people thought it and discussed it but he had so many people wanting to be loyal to him so as to avoid being killed themselves that even your long time friends and colleagues might grass you up if you discussed the possibility to removing him. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Originally posted by WOLFMondo:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Aimail101:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WOLFMondo:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Blood_Splat:
After killing many of his own officers, generals, and scientist. Did it ever occur to any of the Russian people that maybe we need to take this ******* out? It's amazing how much death one man with power can cause.
Fear = State Oppression
Cult of Personality = Similar to hero worship, the leaders appearing as god-like infallible rulers. Liked by the people and seen as their savior. This allows them to get away with State Oppression. It is Charismatic Leadership at its most extreme.
A good starting point to learn more about what a Cult of Personality actually is would be to read "The Hitler Myth" by Ian Kershaw </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
He was the cause of the state oppression. Everything the state did during his years of rule was because he dictated it. He wasn't like Hitler who had a load of croneys do allot of the 'real' work. This guy was a workaholic and literally reviewed everything the party did. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes he was the cause of oppression, so was Hitler. Both had cronies who carried out their wishes, only in Hitlers case they were a bit more open to interpretation. That does not in anyway mean that Stalin did not have a Cult Of Personality.
As difficult as it is to comprehend today, many people living in the Soviet Union absolutely worshipped Stalin despite the fact that millions lost their lives because of him. They saw him as their protector. But those who understood Stalin's true nature-usually those who were more urbanized-either became victims of his repressive leadership and were killed or exiled, or they learned to keep silent.
Saying that his strong rule was just down to oppression is being very, very narrow minded.
Yes, and the modern democracies - as we can see - are unfortunately not immune to this either.It's a simple fact that most people will quite readily trade freedom for perceived safety and security.
But as regards Stalin it was part personality cult and part random terror that gave him the power he had. With a combination like this, who but the bravest will oppose you?