is this true of stalin?

[The Dark Side of the Moon]

in my history book, it is very right propoganda. but i do want to see the credibilty of one thing, this excerpt:

Stalin tried to create a myth that he was the country's father and savior. Stalin glorified himslef as the symbol of the nation. He encouraged people to think of him as "The Greatest Genius of All Times and Peoples." Many towns, factories, and streets in the Soviet Union were named for Stalin. A new metal was called Stalinite. An orchid was named Stalinchid. Children standing before their desks every morning said, "Thank Comrade Stalin for this happy life."

im really skeptical of this. the same book also states between 8 million to 13 million deaths happend in the great purge. even though le livre noir du communisme states that their where only 670.000 killed

[Tim Cornelis]

I heard the same thing, there is also propaganda pictures depicting children with Stalin titled something similar (Thank Comrade Stalin for my happy youth).

But "only" 680,000 people were killed during the Great Purge according to official Soviet documents.

According to the declassified Soviet archives, during 1937 and 1938, the NKVD detained 1,548,366 victims, of whom 681,692 were shot - an average of 1,000 executions a day (in comparison, the Tsarists executed 3,932 persons for political crimes from 1825 to 1910 - an average of less than 1 execution per week)

So your history book is certainly not factual.

EDIT: the propaganda in question: "Thank you, Comrade Stalin, for our Happy Childhood"

[Kornilios Sunshine]

Say WHAAAAT?

+ YouTube Video

WTF?
Throw this book!It is lying!

[The Dark Side of the Moon]

I heard the same thing, there is also propaganda pictures depicting children with Stalin titled something similar (Thank Comrade Stalin for my happy youth).

But "only" 680,000 people were killed during the Great Purge according to official Soviet documents.



So your history book is certainly not factual.

EDIT: the propaganda in question: "Thank you, Comrade Stalin, for our Happy Childhood"

not my question, but still thanks for the photo

[thesadmafioso]

All of these details seem to be rather standard trappings of a cult of personality, I wouldn't really bring them under too much scrutiny.

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

Why do people need to make shit up about Stalin to slander him? He did plenty of real bad things, like deporting Chechen people and Kalmyk people to Siberia as collective punishment for instance, an action which killed thousands of innocent civilians, or forcefully collectivizing or resettling various populations in part of the country, or sending monks, priests and imams to the Gulags merely for being religious functionaries alongside anyone with the bad luck of being seen as a Trot or some other "political undesirable" (often whether or not the suspicions of being in the opposition were well-grounded, of course).

as for the question in the OP, Stalin was pretty much the pioneer of the cult of personality so yeah i'd expect this kind of thing in soviet schools

[Jimmie Higgins]

I always had the impression that Stalin's rule diefied Lenin and Marx and Engels more than Stalin himself... he just claimed to be their logical successor.

[eyeheartlenin]

A number of places in the USSR were re-named in Stalin's honor: Stalingrad, Stalino, Stalinabad, Stalinsk, and Mount Stalin, come to mind. During Stalin's lifetime, one Soviet author reportedly wrote that the letter "a" should be grateful to have a place in Stalin's name, and songs about "the great Stalin" were composed, even in the workers' states. There was one such song in the DDR ("East Germany") explicitly about Stalin, that can still be heard on youtube, as can the memorable East German song, "Die Partei hat immer Recht!" ("The Party is always right!"), which mentions Stalin, alongside Lenin, in the refrain.

There is an excellent novel, "Generations of Winter," depicting Stalinist rule in the USSR, which indicates that that the Stalin cult quickly evaporated, beginning with Stalin's death. One gets the impression that the whole society breathed a sigh of relief, after the passing of "great Stalin." There is anecdotal evidence to that effect: a couple of workers in Moscow were taking down giant portraits of the Soviet leadership, and, when Stalin's portrait unexpectedly fell, one worker said to another, "Leave it. We won't be needing that one again." Reportedly, the men at the highest level of the Soviet power structure, the Politburo IIRC, were immensely relieved, when Stalin passed away.

Trotsky wrote that, whereas Louis XIV could say, "L'état, c'est moi," Stalin could boast that "La société, c'est moi," so I would guess that the Stalin cult was pervasive in the USSR during his lifetime.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Why do people need to make shit up about Stalin to slander him? He did plenty of real bad things, like deporting Chechen people and Kalmyk people to Siberia as collective punishment for instance, an action which killed thousands of innocent civilians, or forcefully collectivizing or resettling various populations in part of the country, or sending monks, priests and imams to the Gulags merely for being religious functionaries alongside anyone with the bad luck of being seen as a Trot or some other "political undesirable" (often whether or not the suspicions of being in the opposition were well-grounded, of course).

as for the question in the OP, Stalin was pretty much the pioneer of the cult of personality so yeah i'd expect this kind of thing in soviet schools

Also don't forget his excessive military buildup and his treatment of homosexuals.

[tir1944]

Are you talking about the "excessive military build-up" in the face of Nazi aggression or the one in the face of (potential) Imperialist aggression in the immediate post-WW2 period?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Are you talking about the "excessive military build-up" in the face of Nazi aggression or the one in the face of (potential) Imperialist aggression in the immediate post-WW2 period?

I am talking about his excessive build up post-world war two.There came a time where after enough nuclear weapons and tanks were built that he didn't need anymore because he had more than enough.Plus when you add in socialist allies which would have entered any potential war on Russia's side you have a recipe which ended up wasting precious resources.

I would agree that his industrialization and build up was needed to defeat the Nazis but years after the end of WWII there was a moment which Stalin had more than enough weapons.

[Nox]

That statement stinks of Anti-Communist or Trotskyist propaganda.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

That statement stinks of Anti-Communist or Trotskyist propaganda.

How is it anti-communist to be anti-war?

And you believe that with all his weapons and all his allies Stalin would have suffered a defeat at the hands of invaders? Explain please.

[tir1944]

I am talking about his excessive build up post-world war two.

In what way was it "excessive"? How much money did the USSR spend on its defense?

There came a time where after enough nuclear weapons and tanks were built that he didn't need anymore because he had more than enough.

You do know that the Soviet Union got its first atomic bomb in 1949,right?

Plus when you add in socialist allies which would have entered any potential war on Russia's side you have a recipe which ended up wasting precious resources.

Yugoslavia was pretty much the only Soviet ally in Europe with a somewhat capable Army,and even they lacked a serious Air-force,Navy or Armored forces.

There came a time where after enough nuclear weapons and tanks were built that he didn't need anymore because he had more than enough.

How many (modern) tanks did the USSR have in,let's say,1946,and how many tanks do you consider "enough"?

[Tablo]

Yeah, the Soviet Union certainly overproduced weapons following WWII to its collapse. The nuclear arms they had were more than enough to deter any Western invasion. Obviously they would need to maintain and build new weapons to replace the old. I've often heard in classes that a large part of Soviet shortages came from overproduction of weapons and an underproduction of things people actually need/want.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

That statement stinks of Anti-Communist or Trotskyist propaganda.

Probably the worst comment i've seen on this site for a long time. So i'll retort:

That statement stinks of murderous, Stalinist, bureaucratic, Gulag-loving propaganda.

Luckily, i'm being mildly sarcastic, just to show you how pathetic your comment was.

[Nox]

Are you guys seriously believing that this isn't total bullshit?

He encouraged people to think of him as "The Greatest Genius of All Times and Peoples." Many towns, factories, and streets in the Soviet Union were named for Stalin. A new metal was called Stalinite. An orchid was named Stalinchid. Children standing before their desks every morning said, "Thank Comrade Stalin for this happy life."

You have to be pretty stupid to think this is anything other than pure propaganda against Stalin.

[Nox]

Probably the worst comment i've seen on this site for a long time. So i'll retort:

That statement stinks of murderous, Stalinist, bureaucratic, Gulag-loving propaganda.

Luckily, i'm being mildly sarcastic, just to show you how pathetic your comment was.

I didn't mention anything about the Soviet Union under Stalin.

All I said was that that statement is probably propaganda, it's highly exaggurated at the very least.

You must be pretty stupid if you genuinely believe the stuff in the quote was real.

[Nox]

How is it anti-communist to be anti-war?

And you believe that with all his weapons and all his allies Stalin would have suffered a defeat at the hands of invaders? Explain please.

My comment was directed at the OP not your post

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Are you guys seriously believing that this isn't total bullshit?



You have to be pretty stupid to think this is anything other than pure propaganda against Stalin.

Some of it, but it has a point in showing us towards the existence of a cult of personality. Indeed, i'm sure that the stuff about places being named after Stalin is true.

Unless you're denying that there was a cult of personality around the bloke.

Oh and, how childish to neg rep.