Brezhnev's Personality Cult

Question 1

Brezhnev’s personality cult was…

Answer 1

a shadow of Stalin’s

Question 2

Brezhnev adopted a cult of personality for _____ reasons

Answer 2

pragmatic

Question 3

Brezhnev adopted a cult of personality for pragmatic reasons - expand on this claim

Answer 3

By 1964, a cult of the leader was well established as an essential feature of Soviet politics. Brezhnev decided to adopt a leadership cult to consolidate his position and help stabilise the regime

Question 4

The Brezhnev Cult had four key aspects. According to Soviet propaganda Brezhnev was ideally suited to rule because he was:

Answer 4

• A great Leninist: Brezhnev had not known Lenin, but he claimed to be continuing the work started by Lenin, particularly working for world peace
• A military hero: Brezhnev attempted to present himself as a military leader and official publications stressed his military prowess in the Second World War; he was promoted to the position of Marshal of the Red Army and received 60 medals
• Dedicated to ensuring world peace: Brezhnev stressed his foreign policy successes in developing détente with the USA
• A true man of the people: Brezhnev biographies told of his humble origins and how he worked as an engineer in the steel industry

Question 5

Brezhnev constructed his image through…

Answer 5

a series of public festivals marking important anniversaries, such as the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution in 1967, the twentieth and thirtieth anniversaries of the victory in the Second World War in 1965 and 1975, and Brezhnev’s major birthdays

Speeches by Brezhnev dominated these occasions, and photographs of the leader were an important part of the press coverage of the celebrations

Question 6

However, the Brezhnev cult was ____________

Answer 6

counterproductive

Question 7

Why was the Brezhnev cult counterproductive?

Answer 7

Brezhnev was mocked for his claims to greatness:
- Veterans of the Second World War resented the inflation of Brezhnev’s role in the war
- Young people, aware of the size of the Soviet military, were not taken in by his claims to be an advocate of peace
- The lavish and luxurious lifestyle of Brezhnev’s family undercut the claims that he was a man of the people

Question 8

Brezhnev’s cult was simply not ______

Answer 8

plausible

Question 9

The difference between the personality cults of Stalin and Khrushchev

Answer 9

Whereas Stalin had been respected and feared, Brezhnev became the butt of numerous jokes that focused on his vanity and his hollow claims. Whereas Stalin’s cult inspired loyalty and respect, the Brezhnev Cult inspired cynicism

Question 10

Conclusion

Answer 10

In the early years of the regime the cut of Lenin had been an important factor in winning and retaining power. While the Lenin Cult had helped the Party control the Soviet Union, the Stalin Cult helped Stalin gain control of the Party and the country. In that sense, the cult of Stalin was a method of creating and sustaining personal rule. Later cults were much less impressive. Stalin had ensured that the gap between the myth and reality was never exposed. Khrushchev was caught out by claiming credit for policies that later became public failures. Brezhnev’s Cult was implausible from the beginning. Whereas people had believed that Stalin was an all-conquering genius, the Soviet people were not taken in by Brezhnev’s military awards