Myths Surrounding Stalin.

Assignment 3
Part One.
Question: Read the following extract and then answer the question in no more than 600 words.
What does this source tell us about the creation of myths surrounding Stalin?
This source tells us that Stalin and other actors created myths to promote him. These made people believe Stalin was a good leader and was making the economy grow and making the Soviet State better for all people who lived there. They encouraged the people to work as hard as possible and if they didn’t then there would be consequences. It also says that Stalin is not that man, that he is in fact a bully and a tyrant. He used brute force when it was unnecessary, against the people and members of the party. He committed crimes against the party and the people of the Soviet Union and he did this to control people, not only during the revolution, but afterwards when there was no need to be so heavy handed. It also says Stalin was intolerant and had believed he was bigger than the party and the central committee. Khrushchev also says that Stalin’s brutal ways shocked Lenin; this makes you believe that Lenin wasn’t as bad as Stalin. Lenin however was also a brutal leader.
Nikita Khrushchev, who delivered this speech, was also looking to run the Soviet State. He is trying to promote himself as the new leader and was running against Molotov who was similar to Stalin. This meant Khrushchev had to sell himself as the new man and different from Stalin. To do this he gave this speech about Stalin, referring slightly to Lenin whom Stalin took over from. Khrushchev wasn’t balanced in his statements he only emphasised the negatives of Stalin’s rule, there was no mention of the winning of the war or any reference to his advances in industry. He kept his focus on Stalin’s personality, he did this because no one really knew Stalin as a person and he spent alot of time wiping out his past. All comments about Stalin were negative, nothing was positive.
Khrushchev was really replacing one...