What does cult of personality mean? What is the Cult of Personality? Cult of personality of statesmen

a term used to denote the policy and practice of exalting the political role and absolutization of the social significance of an individual (usually a statesman) through various means of propaganda. The deification of rulers (monarchs, emperors, sultans, etc.) has existed since ancient times. The bearer of power was credited with the highest statesmanship, numerous talents and high humanistic human qualities. The cult of personality was implemented by state laws and other documents, works of literature and visual arts(portraits, monuments). In the 20th century The cult of personality was purposefully formed by the leader’s entourage in states with a totalitarian regime. In them, the leader’s right to exclusive power was justified by the supposed outstanding political abilities of the leader: in the USSR - I.V. Stalin, in Germany - A. Hitler, in China - Mao Zedong) in Korea - Kim Il Sung, etc.

The past twentieth century was rich in historical events, because it was in this century that both world wars took place, dictatorial rulers gained power and were overthrown, and significant changes occurred on the geopolitical map of the world. And it was in the twentieth century that the whole world became aware of the concept of the cult of personality as the basis of autocracy and totalitarianism. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Nicolae Ceaucescu, Kim Jong Il, Mao Zedong - exactly this politicians of the last century are most strongly associated with the cult of personality, and most of them, through their political decisions, brought a lot of suffering to their own and other peoples. Therefore, it is not surprising that after the tragic lesson that the Second World War became for all humanity World War, the policy of the UN and a number of other international unions was aimed, among other things, at countering the emergence of new authoritarian-totalitarian regimes.

However, history tends to develop in circles, and already in the 21st century, the world community has once again become agitated by talk about the emergence of new dictators, and increasingly, political analysts and leaders of a number of states are declaring that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a dictator. And one of the signs that the President of Russia has moved away from the principles of democratic government and is seeking to concentrate all power in his own hands is the development of Putin’s personality cult. For the first time, some foreign media spoke about the cult of Putin back in the early 2000s - for example, in 2001, the BBC news agency expressed the opinion that trends and prerequisites for the formation of a personality cult of the recently elected President were increasingly visible in the Russian Federation. And in 2007, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko already spoke about the cult of Putin - he expressed concern that the Russian Federation was forming a cult of Putin’s personality and because of this the state could “turn” into Soviet time“When everyone jumped up and shouted “Glory to the CPSU.”

What is a cult of personality?

Both in Russian and in foreign media Nowadays, the phrase “Putin’s personality cult” regularly appears, and influential people also claim its presence in the Russian Federation. foreign politicians, and political analysts, and journalists, and Russian opposition figures. However, in order to determine what signs led to the conclusion that the cult of Putin is spreading more and more widely in Russia, it is necessary to clarify what is usually meant by the concept of personality.

In political science, the concept of a cult of personality is interpreted as the exaltation of an individual (statesman). The main feature of such a cult is society’s perception of the President not as a person who was temporarily entrusted to govern the state, but as an irreplaceable leader, “leader of the people” and even a messenger higher powers ruler The cult of personality is considered one of the main features of an authoritarian regime - a regime of government in which all power is concentrated in the hands of one person (President, King, Fuhrer, etc.), and other authorities (parliament, judicial system etc.) are directly subordinate to the ruler.

Signs of the personality cult of the ruler in modern society the following is generally accepted:

• the confidence of the majority of citizens in the ruler;
• very high rating of the ruler based on citizen surveys;
• propaganda of the ruler’s course in the media;
• the creation of public organizations that actively support the ruler’s course;
• restriction or complete ban on criticism of the ruler in society and the media;
• the emergence of myths about the life of the ruler, which characterize his personality from the best side;
• confidence of citizens in the correctness and legality of all decisions of the ruler, regardless of whether they comply with actual legislation and whether they benefit society;
• the willingness of citizens to follow the course announced by the ruler even to the detriment of personal interests;
• the use of the image of a ruler in popular culture (for example, the ruler is a prototype of characters in fiction books or is sung about him in popular songs);
• street names, settlements etc. in honor of the ruler, installation of monuments to the ruler, distribution of portraits and posters depicting the ruler, etc.
• the ruler is perceived by many members of society as an idol, etc.

Signs of Putin’s personality cult in modern Russia

Undoubtedly, the presence of one or two of the above signs cannot be the basis for unambiguously asserting that a cult of personality has been formed, however, in one way or another, much more than 2 signs are expressed. According to the results of a Levada Center survey in 2010, 27% of Russians were confident in the existence of Putin’s personality cult, but after 2 years their number decreased to 19%. As for the population's trust in the President, after a slight decrease in 2012, Putin's rating began to grow steadily, and according to Levada Center polls, in 2015 it amounted to 86%. It should be noted that the majority of citizens who fully trust Putin and approve of his policies argue that there is no cult of Putin in society - the people simply love and respect their President.

In addition to Putin’s very high rating (for comparison: the highest rating of Barack Obama was 64%, Angela Merkel - 75%, Francois Hollande - approximately 45%), in Russian society Some other signs of the personality cult of the current President are also obvious. Surely most Russians have seen television programs about how V.V. Putin retrieved two amphorae from the bottom of the Taman Bay, flew a hang glider with Siberian Cranes, rode a horse, rested hunting and fishing, etc. Also in the 2000s, articles about Putin’s service in intelligence and counterintelligence appeared in the press more than once, and part of this information was later refuted (for example, information about Putin’s service in foreign intelligence in Dresden, etc.). A number of political scientists consider such reports about the President as one of the components of the cult of personality, since these television programs and articles are aimed at creating for the people the image of the President as a “Superman”.

However, a very high rating, the presence of myths and the idealization of Putin’s personality are not all the signs of a personality cult that can be seen in public life modern Russia. Other obvious signals about the presence of a Putin cult include:

1. Absence in Federal Assembly RF real opposition to the President
2. Statements by some famous politicians and leaders social movements(V.V. Zhirinovsky, A.G. Dugin, etc.) that Putin should be not just the President, but the monarch of Russia
3. The announcement by some that Putin is a messenger of God, called to restore the former greatness of the Russian Empire
4. Propaganda of the image of the “ideal President” in the media
5. Election of Putin as President for a third term
6. Creation of youth organizations that support the President’s course (“Ours”, “Network”, “ United Russia Young Guard", forum "Seliger", "Anti-Maidan", etc.)
7. Holding rallies and marches in different cities of the country in support of V.V. Putin
8. The presence of censorship prohibiting criticism of the President’s actions in the media and the purge of the information space
9. Mass production of consumer products with images of V.V. Putin (T-shirts, jackets, cups, posters, etc. with a photo of the President can be bought in stores in any city in Russia)
10. The presence of images of Putin in the offices of many officials (not only heads of government agencies, who are “legally required” to have a portrait of the President on the wall of their office), private entrepreneurs, and even in the homes of ordinary citizens
11. The sound of popular songs on radio stations under Putin (“Singing together” - “Such as Putin”, “White Eagle” - “And in an open field”).

Some politicians, experts and ordinary citizens of the Russian Federation acknowledge the existence of the Putin cult in Russia, while others deny it. However, neither one nor the other should forget that according to the Constitution, the Russian Federation is a democratic federal republic, and the President of the country is a manager who was elected by citizens to rule the state for 6 years, and not a king, much less God’s messenger. And, just in case, remember that in the thirties of the last century, residents considered their Fuhrer the best ruler and massively approved of his political course.

Cult of personality

Cult of personality- exaltation of an individual (usually a statesman) by means of propaganda, in works of culture, government documents, laws.

It is argued that a person has numerous talents in all areas of human activity; she is credited with extraordinary wisdom, the ability to foresee the future, to choose the only correct solution, which determines the prosperity of the people, etc. government institutions portraits of this leader are hung, people wear his images at demonstrations, and monuments are erected. In addition to the traits of an outstanding statesman, individuals begin to be credited with remarkable human qualities: kindness, love for children and animals, ease of communication, modesty, the ability to condescend to needs and aspirations common man. Although such deification of government officials has existed at all times, the term “cult of personality” is most often applied to socialist and totalitarian regimes. The most famous are the personality cults of Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and Mao Zedong.

Historical background and criticism of the cult of personality

Throughout history, the majority statesmen claimed to have some outstanding qualities.

In some [ which ones?] in monarchies, however, the title of the monarch is revered rather than his personality, and the monarch is not expected to have any particularly outstanding personal properties: he has power not by virtue of these supposed properties, but by right of birth. A completely different situation arises under dictatorships of charismatic leaders, who need to justify their power precisely by supposed outstanding qualities. Something similar to the modern cult of personality was first observed in the early Roman Empire, when, given the precariousness and vagueness of the legal foundations of the “Caesar’s” power, he was assigned the functions of a hero and savior of the Fatherland, and the praise of his outstanding personal merits and services to the state became an obligatory ritual. This situation found its highest development in the totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th century, and the dictators, unlike previous eras, had in their hands powerful tools propaganda, such as radio, cinema, control over the press (that is, over all information available to the subject). The most impressive examples of the cult of personality were provided by the regimes of Stalin in the USSR, Hitler in Germany, Mao Zedong in China and Kim Il Sung in North Korea. During the heyday of their reign, these leaders were revered as godlike leaders who were incapable of making mistakes. Their portraits were hung everywhere, artists, writers and poets produced works that revealed various facets of the dictators’ unique personalities.

Criticism of the cult of personality arose due to the fact that the exaltation of individuals began to occur in revolutionary movements, which, it would seem, were supposed to fight for the equal rights of all members of society. Some of the first critics were Marx and Engels, which did not prevent their followers from maintaining the cult of their personalities posthumously. Marx wrote to Wilhelm Blos:

Monument to Marx and Engels

“...Out of hostility towards any cult of personality, during the existence of the International I never allowed to be made public the numerous appeals in which my merits were recognized and with which I was annoyed from different countries, - I never even answered them, except occasionally to reprimand them for them. Engels's and my first introduction to secret society communists happened under the condition that everything that promotes superstitious admiration of authorities would be thrown out of the rules (Lassalle subsequently did just the opposite)” (Works of K. Marx and F. Engels, vol. XXVI, 1st ed., p. . 487-488).

Engels expressed similar views:

“Both Marx and I, we have always been against any public demonstrations in relation to individuals, except only in cases where it had some significant purpose; and most of all we were against such demonstrations that during our lifetime would concern us personally” (Works of K. Marx and F. Engels, vol. XXVIII, p. 385).

The most famous exposer of the cult of personality was Khrushchev, who in 1956 spoke at the 20th Congress of the CPSU with a report “On the cult of personality and its consequences,” in which he debunked the cult of personality of the late Stalin. Khrushchev, in particular, said:

The cult of personality acquired such monstrous proportions mainly because Stalin himself in every possible way encouraged and supported the exaltation of his person. This is evidenced by numerous facts. One of the most characteristic manifestations of self-praise and lack of elementary modesty in Stalin is the publication of his “ Brief biography", published in 1948. This book is an expression of the most unbridled flattery, an example of the deification of man, turning him into an infallible sage, the most “great leader” and “unsurpassed commander of all times and peoples.” There were no other words to further praise the role of Stalin. There is no need to quote the nauseatingly flattering characteristics heaped one upon another in this book. It should only be emphasized that all of them were approved and edited personally by Stalin, and some of them were included in the layout of the book with his own hand.

Stalin himself pointedly “criticized” the cult of his personality. For example, the following letter is known:

LETTER TO THE CHILDREN'S DETAIL AT THE Central Committee of the Komsomol
16.02.1938
I am strongly against the publication of “Stories about Stalin’s Childhood.” The book is replete with a mass of factual inaccuracies, distortions, exaggerations, and undeserved praise. The author was misled by hunters of fairy tales, liars (maybe “conscientious” liars), sycophants. Sorry for the author, but the fact remains a fact. But that's not the main thing. The main thing is that the book tends to instill in the consciousness of Soviet children (and people in general) a cult of individuals, leaders, infallible heroes. This is dangerous, harmful. The theory of “heroes” and “crowd” is not a Bolshevik, but a Socialist Revolutionary theory. Heroes make people, transform them from a crowd into a people - say the Socialist Revolutionaries. The people make heroes - the Bolsheviks respond to the Socialist Revolutionaries. The book is grist for the Socialist Revolutionary mill. Any such book will be grist to the Socialist Revolutionary mill and will harm our common Bolshevik cause. I advise you to burn the book. I. Stalin

After the exposure of Stalin’s cult of personality, the phrase “Yes, there was a cult, but there was also a personality!” became popular in Stalinist circles, the authorship of which is attributed to various historical characters.

Examples (in chronological order)

Lenin

Joseph Stalin

Leonid Brezhnev

The doxology addressed to Brezhnev (or “dear Leonid Ilyich”) was distinctive feature"developed socialism". This petty cult, maintained largely by the nomenklatura, included awarding Brezhnev an exorbitant number of government awards (including the Order of Victory, originally awarded to the great commanders of World War II, and four gold stars as Hero of the Soviet Union) and publicly declaring him a loyal Leninist. . Portraits of Brezhnev and banners with his images and catchphrases from the speeches he read (“Lenin’s course to communism”, “The economy must be economical”, etc.) During demonstrations, people wore portraits of Brezhnev and other members of the Politburo. IN last years Life under the authorship of Brezhnev, a number of works were published: “Small Earth”, “Renaissance” and “Virgin Land”, which were awarded the Lenin Prize to Brezhnev. At the same time, it is a known fact that the authors were actually groups of writers. Brezhnev's claims to greatness were reflected in large quantities jokes After Brezhnev's death, it was decided to immortalize his name in geographical names. His successors, however, hastened to erase the personality of Leonid Ilyich from the map of the country and from the annals of history.

Saddam Hussein

Like all other dictators, Saddam established his own cult of personality. At the Baghdad airport terminal, on every wall one could see portraits of the country's president and the chairman of the revolutionary command council, Saddam Hussein. “Allah and the President are with us, down with America” was written in paint on the concrete columns of the station; monuments to Hussein stood in all government institutions. During Saddam's reign, many of his statues and portraits were installed in Iraq. All the ministries of the country hung huge portraits of Saddam with the activities of one or another government department. In 1991, the country adopted a new Iraqi flag. Hussein personally wrote the phrase "Allah Akbar" on the flag. In addition to her, three stars were depicted on the flag, symbolizing unity, freedom and socialism - the slogans of the Baath Party.

The ancient palace of King Nebuchadnezzar was rebuilt: the name of the dictator was imprinted on the bricks. It was impossible to walk a hundred meters along the streets of Baghdad without seeing a portrait of the country’s leader on fences, in shops, hotels, hairdressers, and madrassas. At the time of prayer, a picture of a mosque appeared on TV with the obligatory photo of the same Hussein in the corner. Iraqi funds mass media presented Saddam as the head of the nation, the builder of schools and hospitals. In many videos from his time in office, Iraqis could be seen simply approaching the president and kissing his hands or him.

Saparmurat Niyazov

Kim Jong Il

Wikimedia Foundation.

2010. Probably everyone has heard such a concept as a “cult of personality”. What first comes to mind when you mention it? Most often, attempts to explain its meaning are based on general information

about the most famous dictators, known from history textbooks and are reduced to listing some of their features. So what is it really? Speaking about this concept, we are talking about the exaltation or even deification of a person standing at the head of a country or any religious organization (eg churches)..

His role in the life of the country and the functions he performs are exaggerated to incredible proportions, and power is considered undeniable or even sacred (depending on ideology and attitude towards religion). The power of the leader is revered as given from above, and in the minds of his people he himself is endowed with certain superhuman abilities, for example, to change the course of history at his own discretion or to directly control the fate of every citizen of the country. Most often, this phenomenon occurs in totalitarian and authoritarian countries.

political system

1. Causes
2. Social psychologists are convinced that the emergence of such phenomena as the cult of personality or idol worship is determined by a certain social environment. It is society that creates the following prerequisites for the emergence of such a cult of personality:
3. Political and legal immaturity of people, lack of cohesion and civil society.
4. A large number of individuals, the main characteristic of which is socio-psychological infantilism, that is, the inability to predict the consequences of their own actions and bear any responsibility for what they did.
5. The reasons for the emergence of the cult of personality also include the need for ideological reinforcement of the functioning of the regime.
6. The influence of the leader's personal qualities (for example, oratory, charisma and exceptional qualities of intelligence and thinking).
7. Manipulation of the consciousness of the masses and its mythologization, that is, the formation of an (artistic) image based on events that actually took place.

All these factors create ideal conditions for the establishment of a totalitarian and authoritarian state system with an exalted leader at its head.

Purposes of creation

In addition to achieving universal admiration, the creation of such a phenomenon as a cult of personality pursues clear practical goals:

• Instill fear in your enemies

The feeling of the presence of the leader's personality everywhere inspires serious fears in everyone who dares to think about a coup.

• Appearance of invincibility

There are hardly anyone who would want to compete for power with an infallible god-like being. The main thing is that people perceive the leader as the guarantor of the existence of the state and their own well-being, as an equal to God or his earthly incarnation.

• Unlimited power

Only a few of those who believed in the personality of the dictator dare to challenge his decisions or at least somehow express protest.

• Creation methods

The path to creating each individual mode certainly has its own characteristics, however, there are a number common methods, which leaders successfully use:

• Creating Leader Images

Placing portraits, statues or other images of the dictator in crowded places. The people should see their leader every day, and the more often the better. Everyone should know who exactly is at the helm.

• Assigning titles to a political leader

In addition to the title denoting the position held in the state, dictators often assign to themselves other sonorous epithets that speak of courage, strength, love and their paternal love for their people.

• Creation state ideology with a sonorous name

Ideology is created in the image and likeness of religion, and the main role it is assigned, of course, to the political leader.

• Publishing your own books

The population of the country should know what political views its leader has, what ideas come into his head. These works should contain not only political reflections, but also moral and ethical instructions. The publication of fiction books or books with one’s own sayings in a small, convenient format is very popular.

• Presence in all news

The media should closely monitor the life of the leader and immediately report to the country any news, even insignificant, with the exception of those carrying negative information. The culture and personality of the leader must be united: artists must be encouraged to create works about the head of state.

• Naming objects after a leader

The dictator's name can be given to streets, schools, businesses, squares, cities, airports, awards, and even Mountain peaks. It all depends on the imagination of the one who is creating the ideology.

• Publishing unusual laws

The purpose of such actions is to show the people who exactly makes decisions in the state. Laws may seem stupid and meaningless, but they achieve their purpose.

The obstacle to the formation of a cult of a leader

The desire of society as a whole and each person individually for education and development is an obstacle to building totalitarian regime.

As mentioned above, one of the main prerequisites for the emergence of a totalitarian and authoritarian regime is the low level of personal culture and education in society. Personal culture presupposes the comprehensive development of a person, giving him the opportunity to independently assess the current situation and, through the prism of his own multifaceted worldview, critically look at the ideology that this or that regime is trying to convey to the masses.

The main support of any totalitarian regime is poorly educated people or those who do not want to be responsible for making decisions and their consequences. In a society with a developed personality culture, it is unlikely that it will be possible to build a cult of personality.

Examples in history

• Joseph Stalin

The most famous Soviet leader who created the most severe cult of personality in the history of the USSR. He ruled the country from 1922 to 1953. The reign is characterized by massive repression of dissidents. He passed away while serving as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

• Saddam Hussein

Political leader of Iraq, who headed the country until April 17, 2003. He was revered by the people of Iraq as a builder of schools and hospitals. After losing the war to American forces, he faced numerous charges, including charges of genocide and mass executions. Executed on December 30, 2006.

• Kim Jong Il

Grand Leader of Korea from October 6, 1994 to December 17, 2011. His cult of personality in North Korea is very close to religion. Any negative statements about this leader are still punishable by actual imprisonment. During his reign North Korea repeatedly accused of malicious violation international rights person. After the death of the leader, mourning was declared in the country for a period of three years.

• Adolf Gitler

Leader of Nazi Germany from August 2, 1934 to April 30, 1945. Founder of German National Socialism and the dictatorship of the Third Reich. He was revered as a superman, a perfect personality and an absolute ideal. After defeat in the Second World War he started, he committed suicide.

What is a full-fledged personality of a citizen?

Speaking about a fully and comprehensively developed person and citizen, we are talking about such a concept as “personal culture”.

Personal culture is, in the first case, the level of human development, his potential, abilities and talents, and in the second, a set of social and political competencies, that is, the ability to:

• to take responsibility;
• participate in the discussion of joint decisions;
• resolve conflict situations without the use of violence;
• participate in making joint decisions regarding the activities of certain social institutions;
• understand cultural and language differences and treat representatives of other nations and cultures with respect.

The formation of a person’s culture occurs in the process of training and education under the influence of his social environment and depends on his individual need for development and improvement.

Culture makes a person an individual

In psychology, the word “personality” can be used to designate a person, or “individual” can be used. The difference between the concepts is that everyone is an individual from birth as a biological being, but you need to become an individual through constant learning and self-improvement. Culture and personality are inextricably linked concepts, because it is culture that makes a person a personality.

an idealistic idea, contrary to Marxism-Leninism, that the decisive role in the historical process belongs not to the people, but to individual outstanding individuals. The cult of personality leads to a belittlement of the role of the party and the masses, fetters the development of the ideological life of the party and the creative activity of the working people. The cult of personality of I.V. Stalin and the associated gross violations of the collective leadership, internal party democracy and socialist legality, abuse of power caused enormous damage to our party and country. “In the years that followed Lenin’s death,” noted N. S. Khrushchev, “Lenin’s norms of party life were grossly distorted in the context of Stalin’s personality cult. Stalin elevated the restrictions of intra-party and Soviet democracy to the norm of internal party and state life. He grossly violated Lenin’s principles of leadership and allowed arbitrariness and abuse of power.” The condemnation of Stalin's personality cult and its dire consequences by the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the restoration and further development of Leninist norms of party life and the principle of collective leadership, carried out by the party under the leadership of the CPSU Central Committee headed by N. S. Khrushchev, the historical decisions of the 22nd Congress of the CPSU completely eliminated the perversions of the cult period Stalin's personality and eliminated the basis for the emergence of the cult of personality again. Of great importance was the decisive condemnation by the party, the 22nd Congress of the CPSU, of the anti-party group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich and other despicable factionalists who opposed the Leninist course of the 20th Congress and tried to return the party to the times of Stalin’s personality cult. While fighting the cult of personality, the Party at the same time protects the authority of leaders who devote all their strength to the cause of the people, serve the people, and work under the control of the Party and the people. V.I. Lenin highly appreciated the importance of authoritative leaders for successful communist construction. “... Without a “dozen” talented (and talents are not born in hundreds),” he wrote, “tested, professionally trained and long-schooled leaders, who harmonize perfectly with each other, a persistent struggle of any class is impossible in modern society.”