Misplaced Pages

#300699

187-413: While other countries have had cults of personality to various degrees, the pervasiveness and extreme nature of North Korea's personality cult surpasses that of both its original influences, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong . The cult is also marked by the intensity of the people's feelings for and devotion to their leaders, and the key role played by a Confucianized ideology of familism both in maintaining

374-573: A cult of personality around his legacy. During its first three years in power, the Khmer Rouge concealed Pol Pot 's name and refused to instill a cult of personality around him. Worsening relations with Vietnam prompted the Khmer Rouge to portray Pol Pot as a wartime leader who the people could rally around. Plaster images and portraits of him were prepared for public distribution, similar to those of Kim Il Sung and Mao Zedong . Though

561-655: A famine between 1930 and 1933 that killed millions. The Soviet forced labour camp system of the Gulag was expanded. During the late 1930s, Stalin's government conducted the Great Purge to remove opponents, resulting in mass death, imprisonment, and deportation. In 1939, the USSR and Nazi Germany signed a nonaggression pact , but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest land invasion in history, opening

748-735: A political theory bearing his name being enshrined into the Communist Party's constitution in the 19th National Congress in October 2017. Former president Álvaro Uribe became the center of a Cult of Personality in Colombia in the later years of the country's armed conflict. Supporters refer to him as "The Great Colombian" in spite of his family's ties to the Medellín Cartel and the numerous human rights scandals that marred his presidency. In 2013, after Uribe failed to amend

935-510: A 5.7-meter (19-foot) statue of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung each riding a horse (the first large monument built after Kim Jong Il's death) and a 23-meter (75-foot) tall statue at Mansudae, Pyongyang . The government has also been replacing statues of Kim Il Sung with updated versions along with new statues of Kim Jong Il beside the ones of his father in each of the provincial capitals and other sites. Following his death, numerous commemorative stamps and coins were made and slogans have been carved on

1122-414: A central position in foreign- and domestically targeted Iranian publications. The methods used to create his personality cult have been compared to those used by such figures as Joseph Stalin , Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro , and it was encouraged by Khomeini himself (which was negatively noted by his enemies inside Iran). Regarding Khamenei, Amir Taheri has written, "Like Khomeini before him, Khamenei

1309-541: A closer relationship with France and Britain. In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement , the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain. Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in

1496-560: A cult had already developed by the time of his death. A posthumous cult for Che Guevara is also observed both in Cuba and abroad ; statues and murals depicting him are as ubiquitous as Fidel's. Dominican President Rafael Trujillo enjoyed a large cult of personality during his tenure and even after his death. In 1936, the Dominican Congress voted to rename the capital of Santo Domingo to Ciudad Trujillo . The same thing

1683-438: A cult of personality was built up. A song dedicated to him, " Maréchal, nous voilà ! " (lit. "Marshal, Here We Are!") was mandatory for all school children to learn. In French Indochina , Cambodian schoolchildren in the early 1940s began their school-day with prayers to Marshal Philippe Pétain of Vichy France, opening with the words, "Our father, which art our Leader, glorious be thy name... deliver us from evil", echoing

1870-477: A devout Muslim , wearing a full headdress and robe, praying towards Mecca , but most often he was depicted wearing a military uniform. An international airport , a university , a bridge, a dam , a stadium, an art centre, a street, an urban district ( Saddam-city ), a rocket and other objects were named after him. Saddam even had many well-decorated (by golden flush toilets) palaces for his own private use. People brought many gifts to Saddam that were collected in

2057-459: A dictator that ferociously persecuted dissents and swiftly eroded the republican principles of the country as a way to stay in power. Following his election a personality cult developed around both Perón and Evita. Heydar Aliyev 's cult of personality became a significant part of Azerbaijani politics and society after Heydar Aliyev came to power in 1993 and it continued after his death in 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him. Aliyev,

SECTION 10

#1732783578301

2244-512: A flower named after him. The Kimilsungia is an orchid named after Kim Il Sung by Indonesian former president Sukarno . It was named after him in 1965 during a visit to the Bogor Botanical Gardens . According to a 2005 speech by Kim Jong Il, Sukarno and the garden's director wanted to name the flower after Kim Il Sung. Kim Il Sung declined, yet Sukarno insisted, "No. You have rendered enormous services to mankind, so you deserve

2431-512: A former Soviet politburo member and the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1987, became the President of Azerbaijan in 1993. He then began to carefully design an autocratic system, with heavy reliance on family and clan members, oil revenues and patronage. In Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev is presented as the "Father of the Azeri nation", often compared to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk . During

2618-519: A greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии , romanized : Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii ). Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to

2805-519: A hand on a seated Papa Doc's shoulder with the caption "I have chosen him". In 1986, the Haitian constitution outlawed Duvalier-type personality cults. Hungarian Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi was surrounded by a cult of personality similar to that of Stalin. This peaked on his 60th birthday in 1952, which was commemorated with a series of nationwide celebrations. Many things were named after him, including: After de-Stalinization , his name

2992-474: A high honour." Domestically, the flowers (and the Kimjongilia , described below) are used in idolizing the leadership. When Kim Il Sung died in 1994, Kim Jong Il declared a national mourning period for three years. Those who were found violating the mourning rules (such as drinking) were met with punishment. After his death he was referred to as the " Eternal President ". In 1998 the national constitution

3179-505: A light was left on his office long after he was asleep as a part of fascist propaganda in order to present him as an insomniac owing to his driven to work nature. Mussolini himself oversaw which photographs could appear, rejecting some, for instance, because he was not sufficiently prominent in a group. Legends of Mussolini defying death during the First World War and surviving assassination attempts were circulated in order to give

3366-569: A long lineage of leaders and official North Korean modern history focuses on his life and activities. He is credited with almost single-handedly defeating the Japanese at the end of the occupation of Korea (ignoring Soviet and American efforts) and with rebuilding the nation after the Korean War . Over the course of his life he was granted titles of esteem such as "Sun", "Great Chairman", "Heavenly Leader" and many others, as well as awards like

3553-407: A major role in the anti-Japanese struggle "seem to be directed more toward upgrading the attributes of Kim [Il-sung] as a pious son." This attribution became important as Kim Il Sung used these stories to aid his ascent to power. Kim Hyong-jik currently has a museum and statue dedicated to him in his hometown of Ponghwa . Kim Hyong-gwon , paternal uncle of Kim Il Sung and brother of Kim Hyong-jik,

3740-597: A new profitable market. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labour unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists . In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion. Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with

3927-460: A personality cult centred around Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi & the Nehru-Gandhi family . Current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is often criticised for creating a personality cult around him. Many of the leaders and supporters of Modi's political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) often praised him and tried to build a god-like persona over him. Shivraj Singh Chouhan ,

SECTION 20

#1732783578301

4114-609: A profound impact on CAR's political culture. Another influential leader, Ange-Félix Patassé , who served from 1993 to 2003, maintained a strong personal following, often utilizing patronage networks and favoring his own ethnic group to cement loyalty. François Bozizé , who took power through a coup in 2003 and ruled until 2013, also cultivated a significant following, partially by integrating family members into high governmental roles and leveraging security forces. His successor, Faustin-Archange Touadéra , who became president in 2016, has continued this trend, partly relying on support from

4301-577: A prominent leader of the anti-colonial Korean independence movement . In fact, official sources claim that Kim not only led the March 1st Uprising of 1919 , but also that it took place in Pyongyang—both blatant fabrications. While in reality Kim was at one point briefly detained for anti-Japanese activities, most outside scholars do not support claims of anything further. In fact, according to biographer Dae-Sook Suh, efforts to describe Kim Hyong-jik as playing

4488-442: A sign of his consolidation of power as Iraq 's dictator, Saddam Hussein 's personality cult pervaded Iraqi society. He had thousands of portraits, posters, statues and murals erected in his honor all over Iraq. His face could be seen on the sides of office buildings, schools and classrooms, airports, and shops, as well as on all denominations of Iraqi currency (the dinar ). Saddam's personality cult reflected his efforts to appeal to

4675-492: A single word in one line, it may not be split into two parts if there is a page break or the line of text runs out of room (for example: Kim Il Sung , not Kim Il...Sung). North Korean children were taught in school that they were fed, clothed and nurtured in all aspects by the "grace of the Chairman". The larger elementary schools in the country have a room set aside for lectures that deal specifically with Kim Il Sung (known as

4862-414: A special palace. According to his order, every tenth brick of reconstructed ancient buildings (including Nebuchadnezzar 's palace) was marked with his name or signature. His biography and his literary works were required reading in schools and Ba'ath Party functioneers examined students' knowledge of them. Many written songs, novels, scientific and propaganda articles were devoted to him. State television

5049-631: A status that is retained by the Russian Federation . Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America . Two other successor states, Kazakhstan and Ukraine , rank among the top 10 countries by land area, and the largest country entirely in Europe, respectively. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to

5236-455: A teacher should set up a screen and live behind it. Biographer Suh Dae-sook notes: The magnitude of adulation often borders on fanaticism. His photograph is displayed ahead of the national flag and national emblem; the song of Marshal Kim Il Sung is played ahead of the national anthem; the best institution of higher learning is named after him; the highest party school is also named after him; and there are songs, poems, essays, stories, and even

5423-559: A ten-day mourning period which ran from July 1 to July 10. The anniversary involved lectures, study sessions, local choirs, etc., with children and workers being mobilized to take part in the various events. According to a resident of Hyesan , "Nowadays people are having a hard time... as events related to the passing of the Suryeong are going on every single day in the Democratic Women's Union and workplaces alike". Nevertheless,

5610-475: A union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by Russians . The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as 'Russia'. While the Russian SFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The Russian SFSR

5797-512: Is also held by some that Nehru himself did not actively encourage the creation of a cult of personality around him. In fact, he actively discouraged it. Nehru also wrote an essay titled 'Rashtrapati' in 1937 under the pseudonym 'Chanakya'. Published in the Modern Review , it warned people about Nehru's potential to become a dictator and emphasised the value of questioning leaders. The Indian National Congress has been accused of propagating

North Korean cult of personality - Misplaced Pages Continue

5984-573: Is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет ), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice', ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of * vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news'), English wise . The word sovietnik means 'councillor'. Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет ). In the Russian Empire ,

6171-457: Is described as "a revolutionary immortal" and "an anti-Japanese war hero [who] upheld the original idea and policy of Kim Il Sung and performed distinguished feats in the development of the movement for the women's emancipation in Korea." She is typified as a model revolutionary, wife, and maternal figure, and North Korean society looks to stories of her as examples of how to live life. Although she

6358-655: Is his background, his education , his profession . These are the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror ." During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , or by

6545-587: Is honored in North Korea as an anti-Japanese activist because he skirmished with local police, for which he was arrested and later died on January 12, 1936, during internment in Seoul. There is a statue in his honor in Hongwon, the site of the skirmish. Kim Il Sung later renamed a county in southeastern Ryanggang Province after his uncle. It is called " Kimhyonggwon County ". Kim Jong Suk , mother of Kim Jong Il,

6732-475: Is often accused of having narcissist traits. In 2015, Modi wore a suit which has his name embroidered all over it in fine letters while greeting US president Barack Obama during his bilateral visit to India. This suit was auctioned that year, selling at a record amount of 43.1 million Indian rupees, thereby earning the Guinness World Records for the most expensive suit. In 2021, Modi named

6919-485: Is something unprecedented in the world's history." The Korean Central News Agency has also reported, among other things, that according to eyewitness accounts "nature and the sky unfolded such mysterious ecstasy in celebration of the birthday of Kim Jong Il." To commemorate Kim Jong Il's 46th birthday , Japanese botanist Kamo Mototeru cultivated a new perennial begonia named " Kimjongilia " (literally, "flower of Kim Jong Il"). After his death on December 17, 2011,

7106-775: Is the object of a massive cult of personality. Official flatterers describe him as a "Divine Gift to Mankind" or as the "Shining Sun of the Imamate ." In official discourse, he is quoted more often than either Prophet Muhammad or the Koran itself. Objects which he has touched during provincial visits are collected and sold as icons..." There is a personality cult built around Qasem Soleimani , ever since his death . Portraits, banners and posters of Qasem Soleimani can be seen in Iran and in Iraq, usually coupled with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis . As

7293-554: Is venerated there) worships Modi. One study argues that India's political culture since the decline of the Congress' single-handed dominance over national politics from the 1990s has paved way for personality cults centered around leaders of the small regional parties, derived from hero-worship of sportspersons & film industry celebrities and the concept of bhakti , which in turn has fostered nepotism . Among these leaders, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha had one of

7480-558: The Songun (military-first) policy in 1995, which augments the Juche philosophy and has a great impact on national economic policies. At the 4th Party Conference held in April 2012, Kim Jong Un further defined Juche as the comprehensive thought of Kim Il Sung, developed and deepened by Kim Jong Il, therefore terming it as "Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism" and that it was "the only guiding idea of

7667-490: The 2018 Cambodian general election . The Central African Republic (CAR) has a history marked by leaders who have fostered personalistic regimes, with prominent figures developing cults of personality to consolidate their power. Jean-Bédel Bokassa , who ruled from 1966 to 1979, was notorious for his elaborate self-styling as " Emperor " and his authoritarian rule, including his coronation ceremony inspired by Napoleon . His regime's excesses and alleged human rights abuses left

North Korean cult of personality - Misplaced Pages Continue

7854-581: The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Song before Lee Teng-hui ascended to the presidency. The People's Republic of China under Chairman Mao Zedong also developed a cult of personality, the most obvious symbol of which is his massive portrait situated on the north end of Tiananmen Square . The culture of the People's Republic of China before 1978 was highly influenced by the personality cult of Mao Zedong which reached its peak during

8041-586: The Chinese Communist Party under Deng Xiaoping and his successors such as Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao were averse to a Mao cult of personality style of rule lest it recreate the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. The rise and consolidation of power under General Secretary Xi Jinping has given way to a return to Mao-style personality cult centered around General Secretary Xi in state media and propaganda messages, with

8228-520: The Council of People's Commissars ), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society. State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of

8415-616: The Cultural Revolution . Mao was referred to as "the great leader Chairman Mao" (伟大领袖毛主席) in public and he was entitled "the great leader, the great supreme commander, the great teacher and the great helmsman" (伟大的领袖、伟大的统帅、伟大的导师、伟大的舵手) in Cultural Revolution . Badges and "little red books" of his quotations were mass-produced. Most people were required to recite the Quotations of Chairman Mao and printed material at that time usually quoted Mao's words in bold as well as in

8602-606: The Eastern Front of World War II . The Soviets played a decisive role in defeating the Axis powers , suffering an estimated 27 million casualties , which accounted for most Allied losses. In the aftermath of the war , the Soviet Union consolidated the territory occupied by the Red Army , forming satellite states , and undertook rapid economic development which cemented its status as a superpower . Geopolitical tensions with

8789-646: The Iranian Revolution , a cult of personality developed around Supreme Leaders Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei . This is most evident in the ubiquitous visual depictions of both men. According to Baqer Moin , as part of Khomeini's personality cult, he "had been transformed into a semi-divine figure. He was no longer a grand ayatollah and deputy of the Imam, one who represents the Hidden Imam , but simply 'The Imam'." Khomeini's personality cult fills

8976-597: The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that layers of ice ruptured with an unprecedentedly loud crack at Chon Lake on Mount Paektu and a snowstorm with strong winds hit the area. A political paper by his son, Kim Jong Un, sought to solidify his father as the "Eternal General Secretary of our Party." Many had been seen weeping during the 100-day mourning period, which is typical of Korean Confucian society, and an analyst at South Korea's Korea Institute for National Unification determined that much of

9163-633: The Kuomintang party founder Sun Yat-sen , with his successor, President Wang Jingwei and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek . The personality cult of Chiang Kai-shek went further after the republican government fled to Taiwan . He was usually referred to as "Lord Chiang" (蔣公) in public and a space between the characters of his name and title was required in printed materials. Articles in textbooks and songs glorifying him were commonly seen in Taiwan before 1987 – for example, students were required to memorise

9350-755: The Land Forces , the Air Force , the Navy , Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops . The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in

9537-761: The Lord's Prayer . Adolf Hitler , Führer ("leader") of Nazi Germany , was referenced by Nazi propaganda in a number of honorary titles ( Supreme Judge of the German People , First Soldier of the German Reich , First Worker of the New Germany , Greatest Military Commander of All Time , Military Leader of Europe , High Protector of the Holy Mountain , etc.). Numerous works in popular music and literature featured Adolf Hitler prominently. Hitler

SECTION 50

#1732783578301

9724-528: The Moscow State Institute of International Relations . The Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions. During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it

9911-657: The Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia , was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The USSR, like Russia , had the world's longest border , measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it

10098-790: The Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labour, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism , especially of the Nazi variety. The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form

10285-464: The Soviet Union , was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area , extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries , and the third-most populous country . An overall successor to the Russian Empire , it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics ,

10472-516: The Soviet republics , and the control of the Communist Party weakened. The failed coup attempt in August 1991 against Gorbachev by hardline communists hastened the end of the Soviet Union , which formally dissolved on December 26, 1991, ending nearly seven decades of Soviet rule. With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country,

10659-772: The State Council , which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers. The Soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the 1905 Russian Revolution . Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917 , workers' and soldiers' Soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with the Russian Provisional Government . The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin , demanded that all power be transferred to

10846-463: The USSR , when Stalin's cult of personality was dismantled in 1956, some North Korean students studying in the Soviet Union also began to criticize Kim Il Sung's growing personality cult and when they returned home they "were subject to intensive interrogation that lasted for months" and "Those found the least bit suspicious were killed in secret". According to official biographies, Kim Il Sung came from

11033-635: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), saying that it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty. The Soviet Union later signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973 (and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ), but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by

11220-399: The Vargas Era , the Brazilian Department of Information and Propaganda (DIP) promoted a Messiah -style image of Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas by broadcasting propaganda every day and by showing him as "saviour of the Brazilian people ". In recent years there has been a growing cult of personality in modern Brazil around the Brazilian presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , promoted by

11407-407: The Vietnamese invasion cut these plans short, a less extreme version of Pol Pot's cult of personality continued to exist in the areas which were under the control of Khmer Rouge remnants. Hun Sen , who led Cambodia from 1985 to 2023, also built a cult of personality around him along with his CPP party organization that won all 125 seats in the National Assembly after the CPP won its victory during

SECTION 60

#1732783578301

11594-417: The defeat of France by Nazi Germany in 1940, the Nazis directly occupied about two-thirds of the country, while the remainder was allowed self-government. With its capital in Vichy , this new rump country, whose government was conservative and strongly traditionalist with fascistic aspects, became known as Vichy France . Its president was Marshal Philippe Petain , a hero of the First World War, around whom

11781-496: The largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world . As an Allied nation, it was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . Before its dissolution, the USSR was one of the world's two superpowers through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, global diplomatic and ideological influence (particularly in the Global South ), military and economic strengths, and scientific accomplishments. The word soviet

11968-468: The president of the Presidium announced that "Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is our party, military and country's supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong Il's ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage." Shortly after the new leader came to power, a 560-meter (1,840 ft)-long propaganda sign was erected in his honor near a lake in Ryanggang Province . The sign, supposedly visible from space, reads "Long Live General Kim Jong Un,

12155-485: The right to food , the right to work , and the right to education . The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from international law . According to Soviet legal theory , "it is the government who is the beneficiary of human rights which are to be asserted against the individual". The Soviet state was considered as the source of human rights. Therefore, the Soviet legal system considered law an arm of politics and it also considered courts agencies of

12342-402: The world's largest cricket stadium after himself. During the 2024 general elections , Modi tried to divinise himself in an interview, in which he stated that he viewed himself to be sent directly by God to serve a special purpose on Earth. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra while campaigning in the Hindu holy city of Puri stated that even Jagannath (the form of the Hindu god Vishnu which

12529-540: The "Double Hero Gold Medal". These titles and awards were often self-given and the practice would be repeated by his son. The Korean Central News Agency (the official government news agency) continually reported on the titles and perceived affection granted to Kim Il Sung by world leaders including Mao Zedong of China, Fidel Castro of Cuba and Jimmy Carter of the United States. All major publications (newspapers, textbooks etc.) were to include "words of instruction" from Kim Il Sung. Additionally, his name must be written as

12716-402: The "Great Successor." He is also called "Dear Respected" or "Supreme Leader." When he was still a new ruler, the development of his own personality cult was well underway, with large numbers of posters, signs, and other propaganda being placed all over the country. A journalist from Japan's The Asahi Shimbun said that his striking likeness in appearance to Kim Il Sung has helped solidify him as

12903-594: The "Unique Miracle" and "Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture". The island of Fernando Pó had its name Africanized after him to Masie Ngueme Biyogo Island; upon his overthrow in 1979, its name was again changed to Bioko . The capital, Santa Isabel, had its name changed to Malabo . In 1978, he changed the national motto of the coat of arms of Equatorial Guinea to "There is no other God than Macias Nguema". This tradition has been continued by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo who has been accused of building his own personality cult. As evidence of this, in July 2003,

13090-420: The "three Great Generals of Paekdu Mountain ," a sacred dormant volcano on North Korea's northern border with China, North Koreans understand this to mean Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Suk, and their son Kim Jong Il. There is a wax replica of her in the International Friendship Exhibition . List of cults of personality This is a list of regimes of countries as well as a list of individual leaders around

13277-481: The 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers. In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union , concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR , to himself. Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling

13464-482: The 1950s, the Soviet Union expanded its efforts in space exploration and took a lead in the Space Race with the first artificial satellite , the first human spaceflight , the first space station , and the first probe to land on another planet . In 1985, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev , sought to reform the country through his policies of glasnost and perestroika . In 1989, various countries of

13651-601: The 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines , and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel . It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea , which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in

13838-579: The CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees , local Soviets and executive committees . While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary. The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies ) played an important role in Soviet politics. It was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge , but

14025-529: The Communist authorities. Under Joseph Stalin , the death penalty was extended to adolescents as young as 12 years old in 1935. Sergei Kovalev recalled "the famous article 125 of the Constitution which enumerated all basic civil and political rights" in the Soviet Union. But when he and other prisoners attempted to use this as a legal basis for their abuse complaints, their prosecutor's argument

14212-589: The Father of Development and the slogan " 25 Tahun Indonesia Membangun " (25 years of Indonesia's development), which dated back to his first term as president in 1968. In September 1998, four months after the Suharto's resignation , Information Minister Yunus Yosfiah – who was formerly his closest ally – declared that the Treachery of G30S/PKI film would no longer be compulsory viewing material, reasoning that it

14399-777: The Kim Il Sung Research Institute). These rooms are well taken care of, are built of high quality materials, and have a model of his birthplace in Mangyongdae . The size of the images of him which adorned public buildings are regulated to be in proportion to the size of the building on which they hang. His place of birth has also become a place of pilgrimage. Kang Chol-hwan wrote of his childhood in North Korea: To my childish eyes and to those of all my friends, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were perfect beings, untarnished by any base human function. I

14586-564: The Kim family personality cult. His death has also been seen as a move by Kim Jong Un to consolidate his own cult. In 2015, at the end of the formal three-year mourning period for the death of Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un ordered the construction of new monuments to be built in every county of North Korea. Extensive renovations to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace have also been ordered. According to The Daily Telegraph , analysts "say

14773-544: The Kim family, although to a lesser degree. According to the official North Korean history, Kim Ŭngu , Kim Il Sung's paternal great-grandfather, fought against the American schooner USS General Sherman in the 1866 incident and was also an anti-Japanese activist; North Korea won the battle and captured the ship which is now on display in a museum. However, these claims remain unsubstantiated and many historians outside of North Korea doubt their legitimacy. Kang Pan Sok ,

14960-482: The Kims. Daily NK likewise published in 2015 that the younger generation is more interested in the outside world and that the government is finding it difficult to secure the loyalty of the " jangmadang " (marketplace) generation and promoting the idolization of Kim Jong Un . The North Korean government claims there is no cult of personality , but rather genuine support not only for their nation's leadership but also

15147-538: The Politburo after the deaths of Lenin and Stalin, as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal, itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee. All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov and Khrushchev, both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party. Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from

15334-515: The Revolution". When General Suharto gradually rose to power on March 11, 1966 , Sukarno's cult, roles, and services were eradicated in a de-Sukarnoization policy. The New Order government created a propaganda in which Suharto is depicted as the "hero" during the 1949 General Offensive , as well as during the September 30 coup attempt and its subsequent mass killings and unrests . He

15521-736: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the world's first constitutionally socialist state . The revolution was not accepted by all within the Russian Republic , resulting in the Russian Civil War . The RSFSR and its subordinate republics were merged into the Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power, inaugurating rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant economic growth but contributed to

15708-475: The Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС has been taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with the infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany , as SS is in English. In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it

15895-530: The Russian paramilitary Wagner Group , which has bolstered his authority amid ongoing instability. Touadéra's moves to extend his tenure, such as pushing for a referendum to abolish term limits , highlight the persistence of personality-driven politics in CAR's governance, echoing the legacy of his predecessors. General Augusto Pinochet , who took power in a military coup in 1973 to 1990, has been affectionally called 'Tata' or grandfather by his supporters and in 1981

16082-645: The Shining Sun!" In 2013, the Workers' Party of Korea amended the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System , which in practice serves as the primary legal authority and framework of the country, to demand "absolute obedience" to Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Sung-taek , was executed on December 12, 2013. His death was attributed, in part, to undermining

16269-632: The Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation . After the Soviet invasion of Finland , the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below). While nominally

16456-529: The Soviet Union . Boris Yeltsin , the leader of the RSFSR, oversaw its reconstitution into the Russian Federation , which became the Soviet Union's successor state; all other republics emerged as fully independent post-Soviet states . During its existence, the Soviet Union produced many significant social and technological achievements and innovations . It had the world's second-largest economy and largest standing military. An NPT-designated state , it wielded

16643-662: The Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom , Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc , which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there

16830-541: The Soviet Union's superpower status, the economy struggled due to its centralized nature, technological backwardness, and inefficiencies. The vast military expenditures and burdens of maintaining the Eastern Bloc, further strained the Soviet economy. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev 's policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) aimed to revitalize the Soviet system but instead accelerated its unraveling. Nationalist movements gained momentum across

17017-546: The Soviet authorities admitted. The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP. The Soviet Chernobyl disaster in 1986

17204-825: The Soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers. After the October Revolution , in which the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the Soviets, Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR). During the Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national Soviet republics to form

17391-536: The Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership, but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied the mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ,

17578-509: The Suryong [ Great Leader ] has been given the highest priority over everything else in North Korea". Kim Il Sung developed the political ideology of the Juche idea, generally understood as self-reliance , and furthered it between the 1950s and the 1970s. Juche became the main guide of all forms of thought, education, culture and life throughout the nation until Kim Jong Il introduced

17765-713: The US led to the Cold War . The American-led Western Bloc coalesced into NATO in 1949, prompting the Soviet Union to form its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact , in 1955. Neither side engaged in direct military confrontation, and instead fought on an ideological basis and through proxy wars . In 1953, following Stalin's death , the Soviet Union undertook a campaign of de-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev , which saw reversals and rejections of Stalinist policies. This campaign caused tensions with Communist China . During

17952-430: The USSR. Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it

18139-469: The Warsaw Pact overthrew their Soviet-backed regimes , and nationalist and separatist movements erupted across the Soviet Union. In 1991, amid efforts to preserve the country as a renewed federation , an attempted coup against Gorbachev by hardline communists prompted the largest republics—Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus—to secede. On December 26, Gorbachev officially recognized the dissolution of

18326-503: The accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005). Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster . The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems. Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk , where nickel , for example, is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions. During

18513-527: The chief minister of the country's second largest state , said in 2022, "He is superhuman and has traces of god in him." It is observed by media critics that despite bad governance and several political setbacks, Modi's charisma and popularity was a key factor that helped the BJP return to power in the 2019 Parliament elections . Opposition and critics often accused Modi for spreading propaganda using popular media such as movies, television and web series. Modi

18700-526: The constitution that would allow him to stay in power for a third term in 2010, he founded a political party – the Democratic Center , that uses the former president's silhouette as logo. The party's attempts to be named after its "only leader" were thwarted in 2012. Although one of Fidel Castro 's alleged dying wishes was, in order to avoid a cult of personality, that buildings or streets would not be named after him or statues of him erected, such

18887-429: The country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property . According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , human rights are the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." including the right to life and liberty , freedom of expression , and equality before the law ; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture ,

19074-716: The creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget . The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee ) to wield its power between plenary sessions, ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court , the Procurator General and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as

19261-437: The cult and thereby in sustaining the regime itself. The North Korean cult of personality is a large part of Juche , the official ideology of the country. According to Suh Dae-sook , the cult of personality surrounding the Kim family requires total loyalty and subjugation to the Kim family and establishes the country as a one-man dictatorship through successive generations. The 1972 constitution of North Korea incorporates

19448-532: The degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in the Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941). They were not controlled by

19635-703: The dictator a mythical, immortal aura. In addition to depicting Mussolini as being chosen by God, the regime presented him as having omnipotent, godlike or superhuman powers. His image proclaimed that he had improved the Italian people morally, materially, and spiritually. Even before his seizure of power, he was proclaimed the Duce in song. The war on Ethiopia was presented as a revival of the Roman Empire , with Mussolini as Augustus . USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ), commonly known as

19822-497: The drunken teacher fall face-first into a ditch. This led to a confrontation in which the young pupil shamed the embarrassed teacher into giving up wine altogether. Kim Il Sung's grandfather draws the moral of this story: My grandfather's opinion was this: If pupils peep into their teacher's private life frequently, they lose their awe of him; the teacher must give his pupils the firm belief that their teacher neither eats nor urinates; only then can he maintain his authority at school; so

20009-606: The duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in

20196-713: The erection of statues of himself and discouraged portraits. However, in 1996, schools were required to build a separate room for lectures dealing specifically with Kim Jong Il known as the Kim Jong Il Research Institute. They include a model of his birthplace. There are approximately 40,000 "research institutes" (total includes both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's) throughout the country. Between 1973 and 2012, Kim Jong Il accumulated no fewer than 54 titles , most of which had little or nothing at all to do with real political or military accomplishments since he never had any military training. His most common title

20383-561: The fall of Saddam in 2003, personality cults of Moqtada Al-Sadr and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis can be seen throughout Iraq, through posters and banners. Some of the posters also carry insignia of the Popular Mobilization Forces . The personality cult of Benito Mussolini was in many respects the unifying force of the Fascist regime, acting as a common denominator for various political groups and social classes in both

20570-426: The fascist party and the wider Italian society. A basic slogan proclaimed that Mussolini was always right ( Italian : Il Duce ha sempre ragione ). Endless publicity revolved around him. He was generally portrayed in a macho manner, although he could also appear as a Renaissance man , a military man, a family man, or even as a common man . This reflected his presentation as a universal man, expert in all subjects;

20757-473: The former Communist regime. Juan Perón , elected three times as President of Argentina , and his second wife, Eva "Evita" Perón , were immensely popular among many of the Argentine people, and to this day they are still considered icons by the leading Justicialist Party . Followers of Perón praised his effort in creating a monolithic labour movement, while their detractors considered him a demagogue and

20944-779: The founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs . In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR

21131-540: The front. The Egyptian state practiced a cult of personality around Gamal Abdel Nasser during his rule. It has been alleged that the Egyptian media has created a personality cult around the current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi . The first president of Equatorial Guinea , Francisco Macías Nguema , was the centre of an extreme personality cult, perhaps fueled by his consumption of copious amounts of bhang and iboga , and he assigned himself titles such as

21318-410: The general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism , demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above. The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over the system of appointments . All senior government officials and most deputies of

21505-525: The globe. The post-Stalin leadership, particularly under Nikita Khrushchev , initiated a de-Stalinization process, leading to a period of liberalization and relative openness known as the Khrushchev Thaw . However, the subsequent era under Leonid Brezhnev , referred to as the Era of Stagnation , was marked by economic decline, political corruption, and a rigid gerontocracy . Despite efforts to maintain

21692-497: The government. Extensive extrajudicial powers were given to the Soviet secret police agencies . In practice, the Soviet government significantly curbed the rule of law , civil liberties , protection of law and guarantees of property , which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky . The USSR and other countries in the Soviet Bloc had abstained from affirming

21879-402: The highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since

22066-471: The ideas of Kim Il Sung as the only guiding principle of the state and his activities as the only cultural heritage of the people. According to New Focus International , the cult of personality, particularly surrounding Kim Il Sung, has been crucial for legitimizing the family's hereditary succession, and Park Yong-soo said in the Australian Journal of International Affairs that the "prestige of

22253-472: The implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed for market-oriented reforms. The rise of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s ushered in an era of intense centralization and totalitarianism. Stalin's rule was characterized by the forced collectivization of agriculture , rapid industrialization , and the Great Purge , which eliminated perceived enemies of

22440-477: The largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR . In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized . As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , it was a flagship communist state . Its capital and largest city was Moscow . The Soviet Union's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin , established

22627-539: The leftist Workers' Party , and Jair Bolsonaro , promoted by right-wing militants. Bangladeshi political party, Awami League has been accused of promoting a personality cult around Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . Mujib continues to be a revered, popular, divisive, and controversial figure in Bangladesh. During his daughter Sheikh Hasina 's rule from 2009 to 2024, the Awami League had ruled Bangladesh based on

22814-486: The most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR ) which essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition, the Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovyetsky Soyuz , which literally means Soviet Union ) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating

23001-489: The most extensive ones. She was widely referred by leaders & members of her party as Amma ('mother' in Tamil , also used to refer to Hindu goddesses) & would prostrate themselves before her. Her government provided various kinds of subsidised goods under the brand name of Amma . Widespread violence broke out throughout the state when she was arrested on charges of corruption . A huge wave of public grief swept all over

23188-508: The mother of Kim Il Sung, was the first member of the Kim family to have a cult of personality of her own to supplement that of her son's, from the late 1960s onwards. In addition to a museum and statue in Chilgol , her birthplace, she has been given the title "Mother of Korea" and has had songs and articles written in praise of her. Kim Hyong-jik , the father of Kim Il Sung, is venerated by official North Korean historiographies for having been

23375-417: The newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt . The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR. The judiciary

23562-400: The nominal head of state . The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations . However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with the party, nor

23749-608: The official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth). The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 armored divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Caribbean crisis , under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov , it expanded significantly. It became known for battlecruisers and submarines. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on

23936-487: The only legal party and the final policymaker in the country. At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee , elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and the general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union. Depending on

24123-434: The only radio station ( RRI , government-run), and the only television station ( TVRI , also government-run) were made into "tools of the revolution" and functioned to spread Sukarno's messages. Sukarno's cult extends to the capital of newly acquired West Irian renamed to Sukarnopura and the highest peak in the country was renamed from Carstensz Pyramid to Puntjak Sukarno (Sukarno Peak). The 1962 Asian Games Sports Complex

24310-617: The order to erect more statues to the Kim family will be a heavy financial burden on an economy that is already struggling due to years of chronic mismanagement and international sanctions". The first monument to be at least partially dedicated to Kim Jong Un was announced in January 2017. It is to be constructed on Mt. Paektu and also includes monuments dedicated to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Additionally, stand alone "mosaic murals" of Kim Jong Un are being planned for major cities in each province. The personality cult extends to other members of

24497-694: The other order until 1936 . In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR . СССР (in the Latin alphabet: SSSR ) is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters . The Soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this,

24684-570: The partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II . Up until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period . Despite the increasing build-up of Germany 's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path. However, after Operation Barbarossa ,

24871-413: The party" and nation. According to a 2013 report by New Focus International , the two major North Korean news publications ( Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency ) publish around 300 articles per month relating to the "cult of Kim". The report further suggests that with the death of Kim Jong Il , the average North Korean citizen is growing weary of the vast amount of propaganda surrounding

25058-429: The party's highest body the Politburo . Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs . It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936), Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) and Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989). Intellectuals were based in

25245-475: The philosophy of Juche socialism. The personality cult surrounding Kim Il Sung is by far the most widespread among the people. While there is genuine affection for Kim Il Sung, it has been manipulated by the government for political purposes. The veneration of Kim Il Sung came into full effect following a mass purge in 1953. In 1967, Kim Jong Il was appointed to the state propaganda and information department, where he began to focus his energy on developing

25432-399: The preface. The Loyalty dance (忠字舞) was also introduced during the Cultural Revolution which lasted from 1966 to 1976. The cult of personality continued for a time after Mao's death. His successor Chairman Hua Guofeng also practiced a cult of personality and he was referred to as "the brilliant leader Chairman Hua" (英明领袖华主席). Reforms in 1978 led to a deconstruction of Mao's cult status and

25619-436: The public grief evidenced during the mourning period was a genuine expression of sorrow. Yet, a journalist from the West questioned the sincerity of the displays of grief. Similar to the mourning period of Kim Il Sung, individuals who did not follow the 100-day mourning period regulations or were thought to be insincere in their grief were subject to punishment and in some cases may have been executed. A notable example of this

25806-481: The region. The long time ruler of Communist Albania , Enver Hoxha , had what the OECD called "an overwhelming cult of personality and an ultra-centralized, authoritarian form of decision-making". Hoxha was widely portrayed as a genius who commented on virtually all facets of life from culture to economics to military matters. Statues of him were erected in cities. Textbooks were required to include quotations of his about their particular subjects. The ruling party of

25993-517: The republic. Many important buildings have a presidential lodge, many towns and cities have streets commemorating Obiang's coup against Macías, and many people wear clothes with his face printed on them. Like his predecessor and other African dictators such as Idi Amin and Mobutu Sese Seko , Obiang has assigned to himself several creative titles. Among them are "gentleman of the great island of Bioko, Annobón and Río Muni." He also refers to himself as El Jefe (the boss). During World War II, after

26180-445: The resident said, "Nobody is complaining about it, maybe because ever since the purge of Jang Song-thaek last year, if you picked a fight they'd just drag you away". In keeping with the modern mythologies that pervade North Korea's version of history, which is seen as crucial to the cult of personality and political control, it is alleged that Kim Jong Il was born on Mount Paektu at his father's secret base in 1942 (his actual birth

26367-407: The ruling People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan served as President of Afghanistan from 1978 to 1979, when he told people to refer to him with titles such as the "Great Leader" and hung his portrait all across the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan . In the 1990s, Uzbek warlord general Abdul Rashid Dostum , who controlled most of northern Afghanistan, created a similar cult of personality in

26554-433: The sides of mountains in honor of his 70th birthday anniversary. Kim Jong Un , the grandson of North Korea's founder, was largely absent from the public and government service until the mid-2000s. In 2010 he began being referred to as the "Young General" and by late 2011 as "Respected General". Like his father, he lacks any formal military training or service. With the death of his father, state media began to refer to him as

26741-627: The state, with some even committing suicide, following her death in 2016. There were extensive cults of personality surrounding Indonesia's founding leaders, Sukarno (1945-1966) and Suharto (1966-1998). During the Guided Democracy era , Sukarno developed a cult of personality. He was made " president for life " by the MPRS in 1963. His ideological writings on the 1959 Political Manifesto (Manipol-USDEK) and NASAKOM ("Nationalism, Religion and Communism") became mandatory subjects in Indonesian schools and universities, while his speeches were to be memorized and discussed by all students. All newspapers,

26928-534: The state-operated radio declared that Obiang was "the country's god " and that he had "all power over men and things." It added that the president was "in permanent contact with the Almighty" and that he "can decide to kill without anyone calling him to account and without going to hell ." He personally made similar comments in 1993. Macías had also proclaimed himself a god. Obiang has encouraged his cult of personality by ensuring that public speeches end with well-wishing for himself rather than end with well-wishing for

27115-427: The state. The Soviet Union played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II , but at a tremendous human cost, with millions of Soviet citizens perishing in the conflict. The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, leading the Eastern Bloc in opposition to the Western Bloc during the Cold War . This period saw the USSR engage in an arms race, the Space Race , and proxy wars around

27302-469: The struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare , propaganda campaigns, espionage , far-reaching embargoes , rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race . Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs), all four being

27489-459: The time, the Party of Labour of Albania , granted him honorific titles such as Supreme Comrade, Sole Force and Great Teacher. When Hoxha died in 1985, Ramiz Alia took power. Robert D. McFadden of The New York Times wrote that Alia's policies of liberalization were "too little, too late", and the country descended into civil war . Alia served one year in prison for corruption , but the anarchy prevented further charges from being filed against

27676-492: The truth". Human rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953 and a one-party state until 1990. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labour unions , private corporations , independent churches or opposition political parties . The freedom of movement within and especially outside

27863-414: The undisputed ruler in the minds of the people. Kim Jong Un marks the third generation of Kim family dynastic leadership. According to Daily NK , people who criticized the succession were sent to re-education camps or otherwise punished and, after the mourning period of Kim Jong Il, government authorities began to increase their efforts on building the idolization of Kim Jong Un. After Kim Jong Il's death

28050-423: The various elements in Iraqi society. This was seen in his variety of apparel: he appeared in the costumes of the Bedouin , the traditional clothes of the Iraqi peasant (which he essentially wore during his childhood), and even appeared in Kurdish clothing , but he also appeared in Western suits fitted by his favorite tailor, projecting the image of an urbane and modern leader. Sometimes he would also be portrayed as

28237-431: The veneration of his father. It was around this time that the title Widaehan Suryong ('Great Leader') came into habitual usage. However, Kim Il Sung had begun calling himself "Great Leader" as early as 1949. Hwang Jang-yop , the second highest level North Korean defector , has said that the country is completely ruled by the sole ideology of the "Great Leader". He further said that during the de-Stalinization period in

28424-403: The west further raised concerns. In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19 , K-8 , a K-129 , K-27 , K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets . There were three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union: the legislature represented by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union , the government represented by the Council of Ministers , and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),

28611-403: The world which have been described as having created a cult of personality by the media or academia. A cult of personality uses various techniques, including the mass media, propaganda, the arts, patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations and rallies to create a heroic image of a leader, often inviting worshipful behavior through uncritical flattery and praise. Nur Muhammad Taraki of

28798-406: The world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran ), and Lake Baikal , the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia. Neighbouring countries were aware of the high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what

28985-399: Was first lady of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the first year of its founding in 1948, she died in 1949 at the age of 31, and starting in 1974, in conjunction with her son Kim Jong Il's rise to position as the heir apparent, she was increasingly praised and her accomplishments memorialized throughout the nation. A museum and statue was built in her home town in her honor and she

29172-410: Was "Dear Leader." Over the course of his life, the government issued numerous propaganda reports of the great accomplishments achieved by Kim Jong Il, such as that he could walk and talk before the age of six months. The North Korean newspaper, Rodong Sinmun , reported that an "unidentified French fashion expert" said of Kim's fashion, "Kim Jong Il mode, which is now spreading expeditiously worldwide,

29359-452: Was a coastline . The country bordered Afghanistan , the People's Republic of China , Czechoslovakia , Finland , Hungary , Iran , Mongolia , North Korea , Norway , Poland , Romania , and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States . The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak ) in Tajikistan , at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of

29546-401: Was also granted the title of bapak pembangunan ("father of development") in 1983. Several books praising him and his works were published during his 30 years of power, such as the 6-book series of " Jejak Langkah Pak Harto " (Mr. Harto's Footsteps) by Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin (1991), "The Smiling General: President Soeharto of Indonesia" by an unknown German named Otto Gustav Roeder (1969) – who

29733-399: Was also renamed after him, as he was also the architect involved. He was featured in the obverse of some of the banknotes issued during his time in office. Sukarno was popularly referred to as bung ("comrade"), and he painted himself as a man of the people who carried the aspirations of Indonesia and dared to take on the West. Also, some other titles were given to him, like "Great Leader of

29920-408: Was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union. Historian Matthew White wrote that it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was 'window dressing' for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were usually called 'Russians', not 'Soviets', since 'everyone knew who really ran the show'. Under the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of

30107-470: Was an attempt to manipulate history and create a cult within Suharto as the protagonist. In addition, the aforementioned sports complex name was restored in 2001. In the present day, Suharto is still venerated and revered among the country's older demographic and conservative politicians. Furthermore, there were demands by some citizens and politicians to re-establish his policies as part of the "New Order revivalism", whom many considers beneficial. Following

30294-414: Was bestowed the honorary military rank of "captain general", a title originally used by the Spanish colonial governors of Chile In 1989, indigenous Mapuche groups representing the "Consejos Regionales" bestowed Pinochet the title Ulmen Füta Lonko or Great Authority . In addition, multiple songs have been made to commemorate his existence. A personality cult in the Republic of China was centered on

30481-427: Was broadcast with his image in the background and a mosque at the corner of the screen and it very often showed him, or his hands being kissed by children and other people. After the fall of his regime, made visible by the toppling of his statue on Firdous Square in Baghdad on April 9, 2003, all statues of Saddam were destroyed. All other aspects of his cult were dismantled, following the US invasion of Iraq. After

30668-434: Was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov , the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure, culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The constitution , which

30855-482: Was called an "indomitable Communist revolutionary" by Kim Sung-ae who was Kim Il Sung's then present wife, despite being largely ignored until this point. Thus, originally she was honored as a guerrilla, but not necessarily as a mother or wife. In the 1990s, Kim Jong Suk's portrait was even added to those of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, which were displayed in every household and building and treated as sacred objects of veneration and worship. Furthermore, when referring to

31042-419: Was carried out within the terms of the Soviet Civil Code. Some Soviet legal scholars even said that "criminal repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt. Martin Latsis , chief of Soviet Ukraine 's secret police explained: "Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what

31229-454: Was changed to reflect this. When his father died, Kim Jong Il greatly expanded the nation's cult of personality. In 1997, the Juche Era dating system , which begins with the birth of Kim Il Sung (April 15, 1912) as year 1, was introduced and replaced the Gregorian calendar . The year 2024 would thus correspond to Juche 113 (there is no year 0). July 8, 2014 marked the 20th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's death. North Korean authorities declared

31416-404: Was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia . The history of the Soviet Union began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War , the Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party . Its early years under Lenin were marked by

31603-484: Was convinced, as we all were, that neither of them urinated or defecated. Who could imagine such things of gods? In his memoir With the Century , Kim Il Sung tells an anecdote involving his father and grandfather that gives the rationale for this sanitized presentation of North Korean leaders to their followers. The memoir says that as a young pupil, Kim Il Sung's father was often sent to fetch wine for one of his teachers, who drank frequently, until one day his father saw

31790-404: Was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status. In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia , and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by

31977-431: Was done with the San Cristóbal Province and Pico Duarte (the country's highest peak), with the latter being rebaptized as " Pico Trujillo ". National personalities and politicians alike had praise for Trujillo with license plates that included slogans such as "¡Viva Trujillo!" being massed produced on all levels and put on the rears of cars. Commemorative coins and stamps were created after his presidency with his image on

32164-412: Was dropped from all institutions in 1956. It has been alleged that a personality cult had developed around India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru . Many leaders opposed Nehru's style of functioning, his economic policies and his socialist agenda. C. Rajagopalachari criticized the personality cult surrounding Nehru, saying that there should be an opposition group within the Congress because it

32351-415: Was in 1941 in the Soviet Union ) and that his birth was heralded by a swallow, caused winter to change to spring, a star to illuminate the sky, and a double rainbow spontaneously appeared. These claims, like those surrounding his father, continued throughout his life. Starting in the early 1970s Kim Il Sung began to contemplate the succession question, albeit surreptitiously at first, but by 1975 Kim Jong Il

32538-424: Was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers , but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars . The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment,

32725-450: Was not independent of the other branches of government. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts ( People's Court ) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law , where the judge, procurator , and defence attorney collaborate to "establish

32912-433: Was promulgated in 1924 , 1936 and 1977 , did not limit state power. No formal separation of powers existed between the Party, Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers that represented executive and legislative branches of the government. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in

33099-574: Was referred to as the "party center", or in connection with his father with references to "our great suryong and the party center". In 1977, the first confirmation of Kim Jong Il's succession by name was published in a booklet which designated the younger Kim as the only heir to Kim Il Sung, that he was a loyal servant of his father and had inherited his father's virtues, and that all party members were to pledge their loyalty to Kim Jong Il. They were also urged to support his absolute authority and to obey him unconditionally. Prior to 1996, Kim Jong Il forbade

33286-477: Was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924. All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of

33473-413: Was running with "accelerators and no brakes" without a true opposition. Rajagopalachari later formed the liberal Swatantra Party because of his opposition to Nehru's style of functioning. The expression ' Nehruvian consensus ' reflects the dominance of Nehruvian ideals, a product of Nehru's personality cult and the associated statism, i.e. the overarching faith in the state and the leadership. However, it

33660-482: Was that "the Constitution was written not for you, but for American Negroes, so that they know how happy the lives of Soviet citizens are". Crime was determined not as the infraction of law, instead, it was determined as any action which could threaten the Soviet state and society. For example, a desire to make a profit could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. The liquidation and deportation of millions of peasants in 1928–31

33847-506: Was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic —lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help. By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became

34034-486: Was the alleged death of Kim Chol and other high-ranking officials. However, in the case of Chol, doubts have been raised as to the credibility of the original account with Foreign Policy stating that stories about violent deaths of North Korean elites tend to be "exaggerated" and observing the version of events disseminated by South Korean media was likely based on "gossip". Several large-scale bronze statues have been erected alongside statues of Kim Il Sung. They include

34221-404: Was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant . Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far. Although long-term effects of the accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of

34408-431: Was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned . The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets ) was nominally the highest state body for most of the Soviet history, at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including

34595-400: Was the physical embodiment of the nation. He revived the traditions of vodou , later on exploiting them in order to consolidate his power by claiming that he himself was a houngan , or vodou priest. In an effort to make himself even more imposing, Duvalier deliberately modeled his image on that of Baron Samedi . The most celebrated image from the time shows a standing Jesus Christ with

34782-405: Was thought to be a former Schutzstaffel member and spy stationed in Indonesia named Rudolf Oebsger-Röder  [ id ] – and his autobiography entitled " Pikiran, Ucapan, dan Tindakan Saya " (My Thoughts, Remarks, and Actions, 1989). In 1993, its central bank, Bank Indonesia , issued the first – and the then-highest valued – banknote of 50,000 rupiah. Its obverse pictured Suharto as

34969-417: Was usually depicted as a heroic, idolatrous figure, loved, feared and respected by the German people. East Germany 's first leader, Walter Ulbricht , was also subjected to a personality cult. People were arrested for mocking Ulbricht's goatee, which was seen by the East German government as a shorthand for him. Dictator François Duvalier fostered a personality cult around himself and he claimed that he

#300699