by Francis Wanja

Created on: October 19, 2009

Joseph Stalin and his Cult of Personality

Of all historical figures since the 1500s, which one would I like to meet? Of course there are numerous people of character in history I would like to lay my eyes on, shake their hands or even have a cup of coffee with. Think of such figures as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior, the civil rights activist and his namesake, the leader of the reformation and the author of the ninety five thesis, Martin Luther, Barack Obama whom everybody currently is having a love affair with, and of course Nelson Mandela, the Umkhoto we Sizwe of the South African democracy.

However, the owner of this quote, "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic," is one person that has always fascinated my imagination ever since I learned of him in my high school history class. Of course this paper is not about that famous quote but rather the personae of the person who said it, Loseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, mostly remembered as Joseph Stalin, was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee. Deemed as a great Russian dictator by many, and his administration riddled with countless massacres and mass impunity, Joseph Stalin is unarguably not a very popular figure in world politics.
Whenever a discussion arises about this man, people always want to know why I would be fascinated by a man who for one was a Marxist and secondly the mastermind behind the Great Purge which was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths of Soviets suspected to be dissidents and anti revolutionaries. To me, it is always prudent to judge a person by the overall deeds rather than single acts. Joseph Stalin is the person responsible for significant economic gains in the Soviet Union during a time when international reaction to communism hindered its growth due to restrictions on trade imposed by the prevailing powers. His five year plans achieved rapid industrialization from a very low economic base. What about Stalin's great military genius, who led a country of the Soviet's populous magnitude through the most disastrous war in world history, WW2, and helped the allies win significant victories against the Nazis? People like Khrushchev tried to downplay Stalin's role in defeating the Nazis by giving more credit to the Communist party, but it is a clear cut fact that Stalin displayed a great working stamina, foresightedness and great military tactic in combating Hitler and his forces. The process of De-Stalinization, brought about to rid the Soviet Union off the powerful presence of Stalin's agenda, was a mere tact to throw the baby with the bath water. According to a 2006 poll, most Russians view Stalin as a great Russian rather than what historians have always tried to portray. Of course like everyone else, the man of steel had his own flaws, but it is true that the scale falls more on the good side than the bad side.
I am not a communist, neither do I ascribe to their views. However, I do believe in giving the devil his due. Stalin's cult of personality might have been propaganda by the Bolsheviks for manipulative purposes, but his insightful economics as well as military ingenuity were true to the core. Of course if I were to meet Stalin today, I would reiterate the significance of a democracy and condemn his agricultural collectivization as well as mass massacre but would nonetheless give him a light pat on the back for his tact in leadership.

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