How Stalin became the ‘Father of Nations’ (PHOTOS)

“Great leader and teacher”, “Sun-faced”, “Greatest luminary of world science” are just a few of the epithets that Joseph Stalin was awarded during his reign.

The glorification of the figure of the Soviet leader by the media began in the early 1930s. By this time, the internal party struggle in the USSR had ended and Stalin had gained full power in the country.

The glorification began with the thesis “first among equals”. But, in 1934, the development of the cult began to rapidly gain momentum. The number of mentions of his name and his images in the press and art grew exponentially.

In the Summer of 1935, the first photographs appeared in newspapers depicting the leader's meetings with young people. The slogan "Thank you, Comrade Stalin, for our happy childhood!" was actively promoted.

The idea was implanted in society that the all-powerful leader was always open to informal communication with the people. Images of his meetings with ordinary workers and peasants were widely distributed, who allegedly could easily come from the deep provinces to the capital, shake the leader's hand and tell him about the life of their factory or collective farm.

At the beginning of the development of the cult of personality, Stalin's image was strongly tied to Lenin's image – he was presented as his loyal comrade-in-arms and successor. However, later, he gradually began to overshadow the "leader of the revolution".

According to some sources, Soviet statesman Lazar Kaganovich once said: "We all talk about Leninism, Leninism, but Lenin died many years ago. Stalin did more than Lenin and we should talk about Stalinism. We've talked enough about Leninism."

In the same year of 1935, a museum dedicated to the leader was opened in the city of Gori, his birthplace. Over time, similar museums began to appear throughout the country and became mandatory places for schoolchildren to visit.

A strong and fearless leader, an excellent strategist and, finally, just a witty person – this is how Stalin was portrayed in Soviet cinema in the first half of the 20th century, starting with the movie ‘Lenin in October’ in 1937.

However, it was not Soviet directors who first showed the ‘Father of Nations’ in cinema, but American ones. He appeared in the movie ‘British Agent’ in 1934.

Monuments were erected in honor of the Soviet leader throughout the country. Some of the most impressive were the 54-meter monument on the Volga-Don Canal in Stalingrad and the 50-meter monument in Yerevan.

Monuments also appeared in most socialist countries. Their construction was especially widespread in the GDR.

During the Soviet era, Dushanbe, Novokuznetsk, Novomoskovsk, Tskhinvali and Volgograd were named after Stalin, as well as a number of cities in Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Hungary, Poland and East Germany.

The BT-5-IS light tank (“fast tank 5 Joseph Stalin”), heavy IS-1 and IS-2, Stalinets submarines, fighter aircraft and mortars were named in honor of the “Father of Nations”.

In 1956, three years after the death of the leader, de-Stalinization, initiated by Nikita Khrushchev, began in the USSR – a large-scale campaign to overcome Stalin’s cult of personality and liquidate the political system he had created.