The Leader Cult in Communist Dictatorships : Stalin and the Eastern Bloc

This is the first book to analyze the distinct leader cults that flourished in the era of "High Stalinism" as an integral part of the system of dictatorial rule in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Fifteen studies explore the way in which these cults were established, their function and operation, their dissemination and reception, the place of the cults in art and literature, the exportation of the Stalin cult and its implantment in the communist states of Eastern Europe, and the impact which de-Stalinisation had on these cults. The First Book To Analyze The Distinct Leader Cults That Flourished In The Era Of 'high Stalinism' As An Integral Part Of The System Of Dictatorial Rule In The Soviet Union And Eastern Europe. 1. Leader Cults : Varieties, Preconditions And Functions / E.a. Rees -- 2. Stalin And The Making Of The Leader Cult In The 1930s / Sarah Davies -- 3. 'a Very Modest Man' : Bela Illes, Or How To Make A Career Through The Leader Cult / Arpad Von Klimo -- 4. Leader In The Making : The Role Of Biographies In Constructing The Cult Of Matyas Rakosi / Balazs Apor -- 5. The Stalin Cult, Bolshevik Rule And Kremlin Interaction In The 1930s / Benno Ennker -- 6. Grandpa Lenin And Uncle Stalin : Soviet Leader Cults For Little Children / Catriona Kelly -- 7. Georgian Koba Or Soviet 'father Of Peoples'? : The Stalin Cult And Ethnicity / Jan Plamper -- 8. Working Towards The Centre : Leader Cults And Spatial Politics In Pre-war Stalinism / Malte Rolf -- 9. Exporting The Leader : The Stalin Cult In Poland And East Germany (1944/45-56) / Jan C. Behrends -- 10. President Of Poland Or 'stalin's Most Faithful Pupil'? : The Cult Of Boleslaw Bierut In Stalinist Poland / Izabella Main -- 11. Georgi Dimitrov : Three Manifestations Of His Cult / Markus Wien -- 12. Leader Cults In The Western Balkans (1945-90) : Josip Broz Tito And Enver Hoxha / Stanislav Sretenovic And Artan Puto -- 13. 'i've Held, And I Still Hold, Stalin The Highest Esteem' : Discourses An Strategies Of Resistance To De-stalinisation In The Ussr, 1953-62 / Polly Jones -- 14. Surviving 1956 : Gheorghe Gheorghiu-dej And The 'cult Of Personality' In Romania / Alice Mocanescu -- 15. The Second Step Of A Ladder : The Cult Of The First Secretaries In Poland / Marcin Zaremba. Edited By Balázs Apor ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 279-289) And Indexes.