Cult of personality

{{Short description|Idolization of a leader}}
{{For|a list of cults of personality|List of cults of personality}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Cult of Personality|Cult of Personality (song)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
A '''cult of personality''', or a '''cult of the leader''',<ref name="mudde">[[Cas Mudde|Mudde, Cas]] and [[Cristóbal Rovira|Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira]] (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. {{isbn|978-0190234874}}</ref> is the result of an effort which is made to create an idealized and heroic image of a glorious leader, often through unquestioning [[flattery]] and [[praise]]. Historically, it has developed through techniques of mass media, [[propaganda]], [[spectacle]], [[the arts]], patriotism, and [[government-organized demonstration]]s and rallies. A [[cult]] of personality is similar to [[apotheosis]], except that it is established by modern [[social engineering (political science)|social engineering techniques]], usually by the state or the party in [[one-party state]]s and [[dominant-party state]]s. Cults of personality often accompany the leaders of [[totalitarian]] or [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] governments. They can also be seen in some [[Monarchy|monarchies]], [[theocracy|theocracies]], [[Failed state|failed democracies]] and even in [[liberal democracies]].
==Background==
{{See also|Imperial cult}}
[[File:Statue-Augustus.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Augustus of Prima Porta]], 1st century CE]]

Throughout human history, monarchs and other [[Head of state|heads of state]] were frequently treated with enormous reverence and they were also thought to be endowed with super-human qualities. Through the principle of the [[divine right of kings]], notably in medieval Europe, rulers were said to hold office by the will of God or the will of the gods. [[Ancient Egypt]], [[Imperial Japan]], the [[Inca]], the [[Aztecs]], [[Tibet]], Siam (now [[Thailand]]), and the [[Roman Empire]] are especially noted for their redefinition of monarchs as "god-kings". Furthermore, the [[Imperial cult of ancient Rome]] identified [[emperors]] and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority ([[auctoritas]]) of the [[Ancient Rome|Roman State]].

The spread of democratic and secular ideas in Europe and North America in the 18th and 19th centuries made it increasingly difficult for monarchs to preserve this aura, though [[Napoleon III]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Plunkett |first=John |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203941782 |title=Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography |date=2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0203941782 |editor-last=Hannavy |editor-first=John |pages=276–277 |language=en |chapter=Carte-de-visite |doi=10.4324/9780203941782}}</ref> and [[Queen Victoria]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 August 1860 |title=Fine Arts: Mr Mayall's Photographic Exhibition |page=6 |work=Morning Herald |location=London}}</ref> appreciated its perpetuation in their ''[[Carte de visite|carte-de-visite]]'' portraits which proliferated, circulated and were collected in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Darrah |first=William C. |title=Cartes de Visite in Nineteenth Century Photography. |publisher=W. C. Darrah Publishing |year=1981 |isbn=978-0913116050 |location=Gettysburg, PA |pages=43 |language=en |oclc=8012190}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Di Bello |first=Patrizia |date=19 March 2013 |title=Carte-de-visite: the photographic portrait as ʻsocial mediaʼ |url=http://www.britishportraits.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Di-Bello-The-carte-de-visite-as-social-media.pdf |website=Understanding British Portraits: Copy, Version and Multiple: the replication and distribution of portrait imagery. |via=Seminar: M Shed, Bristol}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rudd |first=Annie |date=2016 |title=Victorians Living in Public: Cartes de Visite as 19th-Century Social Media |journal=Photography and Culture |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=195–217 |doi=10.1080/17514517.2016.1265370 |s2cid=193760648}}</ref>

The subsequent development of mass media, such as radio, enabled political leaders to project a positive image of themselves onto the masses as never before. It was from these circumstances in the 20th century that the most notorious personality cults arose. Frequently, these cults are a form of [[political religion]].{{sfn|Plamper|2012|pp=13–14}}

The advent of the [[Internet]] and the [[World Wide Web]] in the 21st century has renewed the personality cult phenomenon. [[Disinformation]] via social media platforms and the [[24-hour news cycle|twenty-four hour news cycle]] has enabled the widespread dissemination and acceptance of deceptive information and propaganda.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pathak |first1=Archita |last2=Srihari |first2=Rohini |last3=Natu |first3=Nihit |title=Disinformation: analysis and identification |journal=Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory |year=2021 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=357–375 |publisher=United States National Library of Medicine |doi=10.1007/s10588-021-09336-x |pmid=34177355 |pmc=8212793 }}</ref> As a result, personality cults have grown and remained popular in many places, corresponding with a marked [[Democratic backsliding|rise in authoritarian government]] across the world.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Talisse |first1=Robert B. |title=Not all polarization is bad, but the US could be in trouble |url=https://theconversation.com/not-all-polarization-is-bad-but-the-us-could-be-in-trouble-173833 |website=The Conversation |date=January 3, 2022 |access-date=March 10, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

The term "cult of personality" likely appeared in English around 1800–1850, along with the French and German versions of the term.<ref name="Heller2004">{{Cite book |last=Heller |first=Klaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CreuLAI0c9sC&pg=PA25 |title=Personality Cults in Stalinism/Personenkulte im Stalinismus |publisher=V&R Unipress |year=2004 |isbn=978-3899711912 |editor-last=Heller |editor-first=Klaus |location=Göttingen |pages=23–33 |editor2-last=Plamper |editor2-first=Jan}}</ref> It initially had no political connotations, but was instead closely related to the [[Romanticism|Romanticist]] "cult of genius".<ref name="Heller2004" /> The first known political use of the phrase appeared in a letter from [[Karl Marx]] to German political worker Wilhelm Blos dated to November 10, 1877:<ref name="Heller2004" />

{{blockquote|text=Neither of us cares a straw of popularity. Let me cite one proof of this: such was my aversion to the personality cult [orig. ''Personenkultus''] that at the time of the International, when plagued by numerous moves&nbsp;... to accord me public honor, I never allowed one of these to enter the domain of publicity&nbsp;...<ref name="Heller2004" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Blos |first=Wilhelm |title=Brief von Karl Marx an Wilhelm Blos |url=http://www.zeno.org/nid/20003602281 |access-date=22 February 2013 |website=Denkwürdigkeiten eines Sozialdemokraten}}</ref>}}

==Characteristics==
[[File:Napoleon III, CDV by Disderi, 1859-retouch.jpg|thumb|left|1859 ''carte de visite'' of [[Napoleon III]] by [[André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri|Disdéri]], which popularized the carte-de-visite format]]
There are various views about what constitutes a cult of personality in a leader. Historian [[Jan Plamper]] wrote that modern-day personality cults display five characteristics that set them apart from "their predecessors": The cults are secular and "anchored in popular sovereignty"; their objects are all males; they target the entire population, not only the well-to-do or just the ruling class; they use mass media; they exist where the mass media can be controlled enough to inhibit the introduction of "rival cults".{{sfn|Plamper|2012|p=222}}

In his 2013 paper, "''What is character and why it really does matter''", Thomas A. Wright stated, "The cult of personality phenomenon refers to the idealized, even god-like, public image of an individual consciously shaped and molded through constant propaganda and media exposure. As a result, one is able to manipulate others based entirely on the influence of public personality&nbsp;... the cult of personality perspective focuses on the often shallow, external images that many public figures cultivate to create an idealized and heroic image."<ref name="autogenerated29">{{Cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Thomas A. |last2=Lauer |first2=Tyler L. |date=2013 |title=What is character and why it really does matter |url=https://fordham.bepress.com/gsb_facultypubs/2/ |journal=Fordham University: Business Faculty Publications. |publisher=[[Fordham University]] |volume=2 |page=29 |access-date=June 13, 2019}}</ref>

Adrian Teodor Popan defined a cult of personality as a "quantitatively exaggerated and qualitatively extravagant public demonstration of praise of the leader." He also identified three causal "necessary, but not sufficient, structural conditions, and a path-dependent chain of events which, together, lead to the cult formation: a particular combination of [[patrimonialism]] and [[clientelism]], lack of dissidence, and systematic falsification pervading the society's culture."<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Popan |first=Adrian Teodor |date=August 2015 |title=The ABC of Sycophancy: Structural Conditions for the Emergence of Dictators' Cults of Personality |url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/46763/POPAN-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |doi=10.15781/T2J960G15 |hdl=2152/46763}}</ref>

One underlying characteristic, as explained by John Pittman, is the nature of the cult of personalities to be a patriarch. The idea of the cult of personalities that coincides with the Marxist movements gains popular footing among the men in power with the idea that they would be the "fathers of the people".{{According to whom|date=February 2022}} By the end of the 1920s, the male features of the cults became more extreme. Pittman identifies that these features became roles including the "formal role for a [male] 'great leader' as a cultural focus of the apparatus of the regime: reliance on top-down 'administrative measures': and a pyramidal structure of authority" which was created by a single ideal.<ref name="Pittman" />

==Role of mass media==
The twentieth century brought technological advancements that made it possible for regimes to package propaganda in the form of [[Radio broadcasting|radio broadcasts]], [[film]]s, and later content on the internet. 

Writing in 2013, Thomas A. Wright observed that "[i]t is becoming evident that the [[charisma]]tic leader, especially in politics, has increasingly become the product of media and self-exposure."<ref name="autogenerated29" /> Focusing on the media in the United States, [[Robert N. Bellah]] added, "It is hard to determine the extent to which the media reflect the cult of personality in American politics and to what extent they have created it. Surely they did not create it all alone, but just as surely they have contributed to it. In any case, American politics is dominated by the personalities of political leaders to an extent rare in the modern world&nbsp;... in the personalized politics of recent years the 'charisma' of the leader may be almost entirely a product of media exposure."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bellah |first=Robert N. |date=1986 |title=The Meaning of Reputation in American Society |url=https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2003&context=californialawreview |url-status=dead |journal=[[California Law Review]] |volume=74 |issue=3 |page=747 |doi=10.15779/Z386730 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426192935/https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2003&context=californialawreview |archive-date=April 26, 2019 |access-date=June 13, 2019}}</ref>

==Purpose==
[[File:دوار السبع بحرات- دوار الرئيس حاليا - panoramio (cropped).jpg|thumb|Statue of Syrian dictator [[Hafez al-Assad]], who is revered as their ''Al-Abad'' (Immortal Leader) by followers of [[Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction)|Syrian Ba'athism]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last=Bader Eddin |first=Eylaf |date=8 November 2022 |title=Al-Abad: On the Ongoing |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mjcc/15/4/article-p367_5.xml?language=en&ebody=full%20html-copy1 |journal=Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=367–372 |doi=10.1163/18739865-01504004 |s2cid=253455744 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604090746/https://brill.com/view/journals/mjcc/15/4/article-p367_5.xml?language=en&ebody=full%20html-copy1 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |via=Brill|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
Often, a single leader became associated with this revolutionary transformation and came to be treated as a benevolent "guide" for the nation without whom the claimed transformation to a better future could not occur. Generally, this has been the justification for personality cults that arose in totalitarian societies, such as those of [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Kim Il Sung]], [[Mao Zedong]] and [[Hafez al-Assad]].

Admiration for Mao Zedong has remained widespread in China in spite of somewhat general knowledge of his actions. In December 2013, a ''[[Global Times]]'' poll revealed that over 85% of Chinese viewed Mao's achievements as outweighing his mistakes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 23, 2013 |title=Mao's achievements 'outweigh' mistakes: poll |work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|al-Jazeera]] |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/12/mao-achievements-outweigh-mistakes-poll-2013122553410272409.html}}</ref>

[[Jan Plamper]] argues while [[Napoleon III]] made some innovations in [[Second French Empire|France]], it was [[Benito Mussolini]] in Italy in the 1920s who originated the model of dictator-as-cult-figure that was emulated by Hitler, Stalin and the others, using the propaganda powers of a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian state]].{{sfn|Plamper|2012|pp=4, 12–14}}

[[Pierre du Bois de Dunilac]] argues that the Stalin cult was elaborately constructed to legitimize his rule. Many deliberate distortions and falsehoods were used.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=du Bois |first1=Pierre |title=Stalin – Genesis of a Myth |journal=Survey. A Journal of East & West Studies |date=1984 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=166–181}} See abstract in {{Cite book |first1=David R. |last1=Egan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_7Xh2euykoC&pg=PA157 |title=Joseph Stalin: An Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Periodical Literature to 2005 |last2=Melinda A. Egan |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0810866713 |page=157}}</ref> The [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] refused access to archival records that might reveal the truth, and key documents were destroyed. Photographs were altered and documents were invented.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Strong |first1=Carol |last2=Killingsworth |first2=Matt |date=2011 |title=Stalin the Charismatic Leader?: Explaining the 'Cult of Personality' as a legitimation technique |journal=Politics, Religion & Ideology |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=391–411 |doi=10.1080/21567689.2011.624410 |s2cid=144628885}}</ref> People who knew Stalin were forced to provide "official" accounts to meet the ideological demands of the cult, especially as Stalin himself presented it in 1938 in ''[[the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)|Short Course on the History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]'', which became the official history.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maslov |first=N. N. |date=1989 |title=Short Course of the History of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) – An Encyclopedia of Stalin's Personality Cult |journal=Soviet Studies in History |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=41–68 |doi=10.2753/RSH1061-1983280341}}</ref>

Historian [[David L. Hoffmann]] states "The Stalin cult was a central element of [[Stalinism]], and as such it was one of the most salient features of Soviet rule&nbsp;... Many scholars of Stalinism cite the cult as integral to Stalin's power or as evidence of Stalin's megalomania."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hoffmann |first=David L. |author-link=David L. Hoffmann |date=2013 |title=The Stalin Cult |journal=The Historian |volume=75 |issue=4 |page=909 |doi=10.1111/hisn.12023_65 |s2cid=145070443}}</ref>

In Latin America, [[Cas Mudde]] and [[Cristóbal Rovira|Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser]] link the "cult of the leader" to the concept of the ''[[caudillo]]'', a strong leader "who exercises a power that is independent of any office and free of any constraint." These [[populism|populist]] [[strongman (politics)|strongmen]] are portrayed as "masculine and potentially violent" and enhance their authority through the use of the cult of personality. Mudde and Kaltwasser trace the linkage back to [[Juan Perón]] of [[Argentina]].<ref name=mudde />

==States and systems with personality cults==
{{Main|List of cults of personality}}

===Argentina===
[[File:Museo del Bicentenario - Afiche "Forjador de la Nueva Argentina".jpg|thumb|upright|"Shaper of the New Great Argentina" (poster 1947)]]
{{See also|Peronism|Evita Perón}}

[[Juan Perón]], who was elected three times as [[President of Argentina]], and his second wife, [[Eva Perón|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]]. In contrast, academics and detractors often considered him a [[demagogue]] and a dictator. Perón sympathised with the [[Axis powers]] when he was a colonel and Minister of War<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 18, 1946 |title=Neighbor Accused |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792573,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129121752/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792573,00.html |archive-date=January 29, 2009}}</ref> and even served as a diplomatic envoy to [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]]. During his regime he kept close ties with [[Francoist Spain]]. He ferociously persecuted dissents and potential political rivals, as political arrests were common during his first two terms. He eroded the [[Republicanism|republican]] principles of the country as a way to stay in power and forced statewide censorship on most media.<ref name="Martínez Eloy">{{Cite magazine |last=Martínez |first=Tomás Eloy |date=January 20, 1997 |title=The woman behind the fantasy. prostitute, fascist, profligate – Eva Perón was much maligned, mostly unfairly |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970120/cinema.the_woman.html |url-status=dead |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011221053805/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/int/970120/cinema.the_woman.html |archive-date=December 21, 2001 |access-date=January 28, 2009}}</ref> Following his election, he built a personality cult around both himself and his wife so pervasive it is still a part of Argentina's current political life.<ref>''Politics and Education in Argentina'', 1946–1962, by Mónica Esti Rein; trans by Martha Grenzeback. Published by M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY/London, 1998, pp. 79–80.</ref>

During Perón's regime, schools were forced to read Evita's biography ''[[La Razón de mi Vida]]'', union and government jobs were only given to those who could prove themselves to be a fervent Peronist, newspapers were censored and television and radio networks were nationalized, and only state media was allowed. He often showed contempt for any opponents, regularly characterizing them as traitors and agents of foreign powers. Those who did not fall in line or were perceived as a threat to Perón's political power were subject to losing their jobs, threats, violence and harassment. Perón dismissed over 20,000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions.<ref name="rock">{{Cite book |last=Rock |first=David |title=Argentina, 1516–1982 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1987}}</ref> Universities were then intervened, the faculty was pressured to get in line and those who resisted were [[blacklisted]], dismissed or exiled. Numerous prominent cultural and intellectual figures were imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palermo online |url=http://www.palermonline.com.ar/noticias_2008/nota104_literatos_tos.htm |access-date=January 27, 2011 |website=Palermonline.com.ar}}</ref> Thousands of artists, scientists, writers and academics left the country, migrated to North America or Europe. Union leaders and political rivals were arrested and tortured for years<ref name="eh-Pigna">{{Cite web |last=Pigna |first=Felipe |title=Ricardo Balbín |url=http://www.elhistoriador.com.ar/biografias/b/balbin.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128221706/http://www.elhistoriador.com.ar/biografias/b/balbin.php |archive-date=November 28, 2011 |access-date=December 14, 2020 |website=Elhistoriador.com.ar |publisher=El Historiador |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Feitlowitz |first=Marguerite |title=A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2002}}</ref> and were only released after Perón was deposed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2, 2001 |title=Clarín |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2001/08/02/p-02401.htm |access-date=January 27, 2011 |website=Clarin.com |archive-date=June 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627040037/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2001/08/02/p-02401.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Azerbaijan===
{{Main article|Heydar Aliyev's cult of personality}}

===Brazil===
{{Main article|Bolsonarism|2022–2023 Brazilian election protests}}

===China===
Introduced in 1982, Article 10 of the [[Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party]] "forbids all forms of personality cult."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan|page=29 |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |others=Kunyuan Qiao |isbn=978-0300268836 |location=New Haven |oclc=1348572572 |author-link=Christopher Marquis}}</ref>

==== Mao Zedong ====
{{Main|Mao Zedong's cult of personality}}
[[File:Zhenxing, Dandong, Liaoning, China - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Mao Zedong]] in China]]
Mao Zedong's cult of personality was a prominent part of [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|Chairman]] [[Mao Zedong]]'s [[History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)|rule]] over the [[China|People's Republic of China]] from [[Proclamation of the People's Republic of China|his rise]] in 1949 until [[Death of Chairman Mao|his death]] in 1976. [[Media of China|Mass media]], [[Propaganda in the People's Republic of China|propaganda]] and a series of other techniques were used by the state to elevate Mao Zedong's status to that of an infallible heroic leader, who could stand up against [[Western Bloc|The West]], and guide China to become a beacon of [[Communism]]. Mao himself, however, publicly criticized the personality cult which was formed around him.<ref>[[#Lin95|Lin, Xu and Wu 1995]]. p. 48.</ref>

During the period of [[Cultural Revolution]], Mao's personality cult soared to an unprecedented height. Mao's face was firmly established on the front page of ''[[People's Daily]]'', where a column of his quotes was also printed every day. Mao's Selected Works were later printed in even greater circulation; the number of his portraits (1.2 billion) was more than the inhabitants in China. And soon [[Chairman Mao badge]]s began to appear; in total, about 4.8 billion were manufactured.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barmé, Geremie.|title=Shades of Mao : the posthumous cult of the great leader|date=1996|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=0585269017|location=Armonk, NY|oclc=45729144}}</ref> Every Chinese citizen was presented with the ''[[Little Red Book]]'' – a selection of quotes from Mao. It was prescribed to be carried everywhere and displayed at all public events, and citizens were expected to quote the contents of the book daily.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chang, Jung |title=Mao : the unknown story|date=2007|publisher=Vintage|others=Halliday, Jon|isbn=978-0099507376|location=London|oclc=71346736}}</ref> Mao himself believed that the situation had gone out of hand, and in a conversation with [[Edgar Snow]] in 1970, he denounced the titles of "Great Leader, Great Supreme Commander, Great Helmsman" and insisted on only being called "teacher".<ref name="阎长贵">{{cite journal |author=阎长贵 |title="四个伟大"是谁提出来的 |journal=党史博览 |year=2006 |issue=8 |page=49 |url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/68742/69118/69662/4718717.html |accessdate=2014-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304214827/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/68742/69118/69662/4718717.html |archive-date=2015-03-04 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the Cultural Revolution, [[Deng Xiaoping]] and others launched the "[[Boluan Fanzheng]]" program which invalidated the Cultural Revolution and abandoned (and forbade) the use of a personality cult.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Teon|first=Aris|date=March 1, 2018|title=Deng Xiaoping On Personality Cult And One-Man Rule – 1980 Interview|url=https://china-journal.org/2018/03/01/deng-xiaoping-on-personality-cult-and-one-man-rule-1980-interview/|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=The Greater China Journal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Huang|first=Zheping|title=Xi Jinping could now rule China for life – just what Deng Xiaoping tried to prevent|url=https://qz.com/1215697/xi-jinping-could-now-rule-china-for-life-just-what-deng-xiaoping-tried-to-prevent/|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=Quartz|date=February 26, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=第八章: 十一届三中全会开辟社会主义事业发展新时期|url=http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64184/64190/65724/4444936.html|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=cpc.people.com.cn|archive-date=March 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080301175128/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64184/64190/65724/4444936.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, since [[Xi Jinping]] succeeded as the [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] in 2012, the [[Xi Jinping's cult of personality|cult of personality]] has been promoted again in China.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Luqiu|first=Luwei Rose|date=December 1, 2016|title=The Reappearance of the Cult of Personality in China|journal=East Asia|language=en|volume=33|issue=4|pages=289–307|doi=10.1007/s12140-016-9262-x|s2cid=152260841|issn=1874-6284}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=August 7, 2018|title=Xi personality cult brings back memories of 1960s China|url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2158612/why-xi-jinping-personality-cult-china-brings-back-memories-mao|access-date=July 29, 2020|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref>

==== Xi Jinping ====
{{Main|Xi Jinping's cult of personality}}
A cult of personality has been developing around [[Xi Jinping]] since he became [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|General Secretary]] of the ruling [[Chinese Communist Party]] and the regime's [[paramount leader]] in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://international.la-croix.com/news/the-rise-of-the-personality-cult-of-xi-jinping/876|title=The rise of the personality cult of Xi Jinping- La Croix International|website=international.la-croix.com|date=March 3, 2015|access-date=July 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726171715/https://international.la-croix.com/news/the-rise-of-the-personality-cult-of-xi-jinping/876|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/08/the-personality-cult-of-xi-jinping-china-leader-communist-party/|title=Behind the Personality Cult of Xi Jinping|last=Zhu|first=Jiayang Fan, Taisu Zhang, Ying|website=Foreign Policy|date=March 8, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=July 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726173241/https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/08/the-personality-cult-of-xi-jinping-china-leader-communist-party/|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/china/2014/09/18/the-power-of-xi-jinping|title=The power of Xi Jinping|date=September 18, 2014|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=July 26, 2019|issn=0013-0613|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726171710/https://www.economist.com/china/2014/09/18/the-power-of-xi-jinping|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Dominican Republic ===
:''See [[Rafael_Trujillo#Personality_cult|Rafael Trujillo: Personality cult]]''

Longtime dictator of the [[Dominican Republic]] [[Rafael Trujillo]] (ruled 1930-1961) was the center of a large personality cult.  The nation's capital city, its highest peak, and a province were renamed for him.  Statues of "El Jefe" were mass-produced and erected across the country, and bridges and public buildings were named in his honor.  Automobile license plates included slogans such as "¡Viva Trujillo!" and "Año Del Benefactor De La Patria" (Year of the Benefactor of the Nation). An electric sign was erected in Ciudad Trujillo so that "Dios y Trujillo" could be seen at night as well as in the day. Eventually, even churches were required to post the slogan "Dios en cielo, Trujillo en tierra" (God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth). As time went on, the order of the phrases was reversed (Trujillo on Earth, God in Heaven).<ref>Roorda, Eric, ''The Dictator Next Door: the good neighbor policy and the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic, 1930–1945''. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998, p. 120.</ref>

===Fascist Italy===
{{Main article|Propaganda of Fascist Italy}}
[[File:1936-prima-classe-061.jpg|thumb|upright|"Kids, you have to love [[Benito Mussolini]]. He always works for the good of the Fatherland and the Italian people. You have heard this many times, from your dad, mom, or teacher: If Italy is now far more powerful than before, we owe it to Him." (1936 [[textbook]])]]

[[Benito Mussolini]] was portrayed as the embodiment of [[Italian Fascism]] and was keen to be seen as such.{{sfn|Hamilton|1973|p=73}} Mussolini was styled by other Italian fascists as [[Il Duce]] ("The Leader"). Since Mussolini was represented as an almost omniscient leader, a common saying in Italy during Mussolini's rule was "The Duce is always right" (Italian: ''Il Duce ha sempre ragione'').{{sfn|Bosworth|2006|p=3}} Mussolini became a unifying force in Italy in order for ordinary Italians to put their difference to one side with local officials. The personality cult surrounding Mussolini became a way for him to justify his personal rule and it acted as a way to enable social and political integration.

Mussolini's military service in [[World War I]] and survival of failed assassination attempts were used to convey a mysterious aura around him.{{sfn|Falasca-Zamponi|2000|pp=72–73}} Fascist propaganda stated that Mussolini's body had been pierced by shrapnel just like [[Saint Sebastian|St. Sebastian]] had been pierced by arrows, the difference being that Mussolini had survived this ordeal.{{sfn|Falasca-Zamponi|2000|pp=72–73}} Mussolini was also compared to [[Francis of Assisi|St. Francis of Assisi]], who had, like Mussolini, "suffered and sacrificed himself for others".{{sfn|Falasca-Zamponi|2000|pp=65–66}}

The press were given instructions on what and what not to write about Mussolini.{{sfn|Hamilton|1973|p=73}} Mussolini himself authorized which photographs of him were allowed to be published and rejected any photographs which made him appear weak or less prominent than he wanted to be portrayed as in a particular group.{{sfn|Gallo|1973|pp=206–207}}

[[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italy's war against Ethiopia]] (1935–37) was portrayed in propaganda as a revival of the [[Roman Empire]], with Mussolini as the first Roman emperor [[Augustus]].{{sfn|Brendon|2016|p=329}} To improve his own image, as well as the image of Fascism in the [[Arab world]], Mussolini declared himself to be the "Protector of [[Islam]]" during an official visit to [[Italian Libya|Libya]] in 1937.{{sfn|Williams|2006|p=112}}

===India===
{{Main article|Premiership of Narendra Modi|Indira Gandhi}}
Indira Gandhi has been described as having a cult of personality during her administration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guha |first=Ramachandra |title=The Cult of Modi |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/11/04/modi-india-personality-cult-democracy/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Foreign Policy |date=November 4, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Current Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] is often criticized for creating a personality cult around him.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vaidyanathan |first=Rajini |title=The 'personality politics' of Narendra Modi and Donald Trump |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48332141 |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chatterjee |first=Manini |date=May 13, 2019 |title=I, me, myself: The Modi cult could threaten the BJP too |publisher=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/i-me-myself-the-cult-of-narendra-modi-could-threaten-the-bjp-too/cid/1690410 |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> Despite some setbacks and criticism,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vaishnav |first=Milan |date=May 25, 2019 |title=Opinion: If it's 'the economy, stupid,' why did Modi win? |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/25/if-its-economy-stupid-why-did-modi-win/ |access-date=July 31, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Khare |first=Harish |date=November 25, 2016 |title=The Cult of the Leader: Demonetisation and Modi Worship |publisher=The Wire |url=https://thewire.in/economy/demonetisation-modi-stalinism |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Safi |first=Michael |date=May 23, 2019 |title=India election results 2019: Modi claims landslide victory |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/23/india-election-results-narendra-modi-bjp-victory |access-date=July 31, 2021}}</ref> Modi's charisma and popularity was a key factor that helped the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) return to power in the [[2019 Indian general election|2019 Parliament elections]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Ambar Kumar |date=May 19, 2019 |title=Decoding the Modi personality cult |publisher=QRIUS |url=https://qrius.com/decoding-the-modi-personality-cult/ |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> [[Shivraj Singh Chouhan]], the chief minister of the country's [[Madhya Pradesh|second largest state]], said in 2022, "He is superhuman and has traces of god in him."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Dhillon |first=Amrit |date=February 2, 2022 |title=Narendra Modi has traces of god in him, says BJP minister as personality cult grows |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/narendra-modi-has-traces-of-god-in-him-says-bjp-minister-as-personality-cult-grows-thr5nj637 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> Opposition often accused Modi for spreading propaganda using popular media such as movies, television and web series.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ray |first=Saptarshi |date=April 13, 2019 |title=How Narendra Modi has tried to co-opt Bollywood to push his cult of personality |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/13/narendra-modi-has-tried-co-opt-bollywood-push-cult-personality/ |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tharoor |first=Shashi |date=May 28, 2019 |title=India's Cult of Modi |url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/narendra-modi-india-election-personality-cult-by-shashi-tharoor-2019-05?barrier=accesspaylog |access-date=September 29, 2019 |website=Project Syndicate}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sohini |first=C |date=February 5, 2019 |title=The triumph of Modi propaganda in Bollywood |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]] |url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2184614/triumph-modi-propaganda-bollywood |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Samrudhi |date=June 25, 2019 |title=Vivek Agnihotri: PM Narendra Modi did not even run for 7 days. This is what happens to propaganda films |publisher=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/vivek-agnihotri-pm-narendra-modi-did-not-even-run-for-7-days-this-is-what-happens-to-propaganda-films-1555977-2019-06-25 |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref>

===Nazi Germany===
{{Main|Adolf Hitler's cult of personality|Führerprinzip}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2006-0329-502, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag, Adolf Hitler vor Lichtdom.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Adolf Hitler at the Nuremberg Rally in 1936]]

Starting in the 1920s, during the early years of the [[Nazi Party]], [[Nazi propaganda]] began to depict the Nazi leader [[Adolf Hitler]] as a [[demagogue]] figure who was the almighty defender and savior of Germany. After the [[end of World War I]] and the [[Treaty of Versailles]], the German people were left in turmoil under the [[Weimar Republic]], and, according to Nazi propaganda, only Hitler could save them and restore Germany's greatness, which in turn gave rise to the "[[Führer]]-cult".<ref name="spiegel1">{{Cite news |date=January 30, 2008 |title=The Führer Myth How Hitler Won Over the German People |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-fuehrer-myth-how-hitler-won-over-the-german-people-a-531909.html}}</ref> During the five election campaigns in 1932, the Nazi newspaper ''[[Völkischer Beobachter]]'' portrayed Hitler as a man who had a mass movement united behind him, a man with one mission to solely save Germany as the 'Leader of the coming Germany'.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|pp=36–37}} The [[Night of the Long Knives]] in 1934 – after which Hitler referred to himself as being single-handedly "responsible for the fate of the German people" – also helped to reinforce the myth that Hitler was the sole protector of the ''[[Volksgemeinschaft]]'', the ethnic community of the German people.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=95}}

Nazi Propaganda Minister [[Joseph Goebbels]] cultivated an image of Hitler as a "heroic genius".<ref name=spiegel1 /> The myth also gave rise to the saying and concept, "If only the Führer knew". Germans thought that problems which they ascribed to the Nazi hierarchy would not have occurred if Hitler had been aware of the situation; thus Nazi bigwigs were blamed, and Hitler escaped criticism.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=95}}

British historian [[Ian Kershaw]] published his book ''[[The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third Reich]]'' in 1987 and wrote:
{{blockquote|Hitler stood for at least some things they [German people] admired, and for many had become the symbol and embodiment of the national revival which the Third Reich had in many respects been perceived to accomplish.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=71}}}}

During the early 1930s, the myth was given credence due to Hitler's perceived ability to revive the [[Economy of Germany|German economy]] during the [[Great Depression]]. However, [[Albert Speer]] wrote that by 1939, the myth was under threat and the Nazis had to organize cheering crowds to turn up to events. Speer wrote:
{{blockquote|The shift in the mood of the population, the drooping morale which began to be felt throughout Germany in 1939, was evident in the necessity to organize cheering crowds where two years earlier Hitler had been able to count on spontaneity. What is more, he himself had meanwhile moved away from the admiring masses. He tended to be angry and impatient more often than in the past when, as still occasionally happened, a crowd on [[Wilhelmplatz|Wilhelmsplatz]] began clamoring for him to appear. Two years before he had often stepped out on the "historic balcony." Now he sometimes snapped at his adjutants when they came to him with the request that he show himself: "Stop bothering me with that!"{{sfn|Speer|2009|p=158}}|author=|title=|source=}}

The myth helped to unite the German people during [[World War II]], especially against the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]]. During Hitler's early victories against [[Invasion of Poland|Poland]] and [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Europe]] the myth was at its peak, but when it became obvious to most Germans that the war was lost then the myth was exposed and Hitler's popularity declined.

A report is given in the little [[Bavaria]]n town of [[Marktschellenberg|Markt Schellenberg]] on March 11, 1945:

{{blockquote|When the leader of the [[Wehrmacht]] unit at the end of his speech called for a [[Sieg Heil]] for the Führer, it was returned neither by the Wehrmacht present, nor by the [[Volkssturm]], nor by the spectators of the civilian population who had turned up. This silence of the masses&nbsp;... probably reflects better than anything else, the attitudes of the population.{{sfn|Kershaw|2001|p=766}}|author=|title=|source=}}

===North Korea===
{{Main|North Korean cult of personality}}
[[File:Kim Il-sung.jpg|thumb|left|North Korean poster featuring [[Kim Il-Sung]]]]

The cult of personality which surrounds [[North Korea]]'s ruling family, the [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim family]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williamson |first=Lucy |date=December 27, 2011 |title=Delving into North Korea's mystical cult of personality |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16336991 |url-status=live |access-date=January 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202083328/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16336991 |archive-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref> has existed for decades and it can be found in many aspects of [[North Korean culture]].<ref>Choe, Yong-ho., Lee, Peter H., and de Barry, Wm. Theodore., eds. ''Sources of Korean Tradition'', Chichester, NY: Columbia University Press, p. 419, 2000.</ref> Although not acknowledged by the [[North Korean government]], many [[North Korean defectors|defectors]] and [[Tourism in North Korea|Western visitors]] state there are often stiff penalties for those who criticize or do not show "proper" respect for the regime.<ref name="Forer">{{Cite web |last=Forer |first=Ben |date=January 12, 2012 |title=North Korea Reportedly Punishing Insincere Mourners |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/north-korea-reportedly-punishing-insincere-mourners/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414203420/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/north-korea-reportedly-punishing-insincere-mourners/ |archive-date=April 14, 2012 |access-date=January 9, 2013 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2, 2011 |title=DPRK, Criminal Penalties |url=https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_988.html#criminal_penalties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101184313/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_988.html |archive-date=January 1, 2013 |access-date=January 9, 2013 |publisher=US State Dept}}</ref> The personality cult began soon after [[Kim Il Sung]] took power in 1948, and was greatly expanded after [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|his death]] in 1994.

The pervasiveness and the extreme nature of North Korea's personality cult surpasses [[Joseph Stalin's cult of personality|those of Joseph Stalin]] and [[Mao Zedong's cult of personality|Mao Zedong]].<ref name="Armstrong 2013 222">{{Cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Charles K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUf-_XACg3UC&pg=PA222 |title=The North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950 |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0801468797 |location=Ithaca |page=222}}</ref> The cult is also marked by the intensity of the people's feelings for and devotion to their leaders,<ref name="HelenHunter">{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=Helen-Louise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lrz5OJvCkmIC&pg=PA25 |title=Kim Il-song's North Korea |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1999 |isbn=978-0275962968 |page=25 |access-date=August 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111161606/http://books.google.com/books?id=lrz5OJvCkmIC&pg=PA25 |archive-date=January 11, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the key role played by a Confucianized ideology of [[familism]] both in maintaining the cult and thereby in sustaining the regime itself. The North Korean cult of personality is a large part of [[Juche]] and [[totalitarianism]].

[[Yakov Novichenko]], a Soviet military officer who saved Kim Il Sung's life on 1 May 1946, is reported to also have developed a cult of personality around 1984. He is considered the only non-Korean to have developed a cult of personality there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Benjamin R. |date=2013-12-12 |title=Meet the man who saved Kim Il Sung's life |url=https://www.nknews.org/2013/12/meet-the-man-who-saved-kim-il-sungs-life/ |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=[[NK News]] |language=en-US}}</ref> {{clear left}}

===Peru===
{{Main|Fujimorism}}

===Philippines===
{{Main article|Diehard Duterte Supporters|Ferdinand Marcos's cult of personality}}
{{Excerpt|Ferdinand Marcos's cult of personality}}

===Poland===
{{Main article|Józef Piłsudski's cult of personality}}

===Romania===
{{Main article|Carol II of Romania's cult of personality|Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality}}

===Russia===
{{Main article|Public image of Vladimir Putin|Russia under Vladimir Putin}}

===Soviet Union===
{{Main article|Stalin's cult of personality|Stalinism}}
[[File:Poster of Azerbaijan 1938. Stalin, Lenin.jpg|thumb|upright|Propaganda poster of Lenin and Stalin]]

The first cult of personality to take shape in the USSR was Vladimir Lenin. Up until the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the USSR]], Lenin's portrait and quotes were a ubiquitous part of the culture. However, during his lifetime, Lenin vehemently denounced any effort to build a cult of personality as in his eyes the cult of personality was antithetical to Marxism.<ref name="Tucker">{{Cite journal |last=Tucker |first=Robert |date=1979 |title=The Rise of Stalin's Personality Cult |url=http://bclearningnetwork.com/LOR/media/hist12/Reading/Stalin.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=347–366 |doi=10.2307/1855137 |jstor=1855137 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227131726/http://bclearningnetwork.com/LOR/media/hist12/Reading/Stalin.pdf |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |access-date=February 17, 2018}}</ref> Despite this, members of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] further used Lenin's image as the all-knowing revolutionary who would liberate the [[proletariat]]. Lenin attempted to take action against this; however it was halted as Lenin was nearly assassinated in August 1918. His health would only further decline as he suffered numerous severe strokes with the worst in May 1922 and March 1923. In this state Lenin would lose the ability to walk and speak. It was during this time that the Communist Party began to promote the accomplishments of Lenin as the basis for his cult of personality, using him as an image of morality and revolutionary ideas.<ref name="Pittman">{{Cite journal |last=Pittman |first=John |date=2017 |title=Thoughts on the "Cult of Personality" in Communist History |url=https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/siso.2017.81.4.533?journalCode=siso |journal=The Russian Revolution One Century Later |volume=81 |issue=4 |pages=533–547 |doi=10.1521/siso.2017.81.4.533 |via=[[Guilford Press Periodicals]]}}</ref>

After [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s death in 1924 and the exile of [[Leon Trotsky]], [[Joseph Stalin]] came to embody the [[Soviet Union]]. Once Lenin's cult of personality had risen in power, creating enough influence, Stalin integrated his ideals into his own cult.<ref name="Tucker" /> Unlike other cults of personalities, the Lenin and Stalin cults were not created to give the leaders power, they were created to give power and validation to the Communist Party. Stalin initially spoke out against the cult and other outrageous and false claims centered around him. However Stalin's attitude began to shift in favor of the cult in the 1930s and he began to encourage it following the [[Great Purge]].<ref name="Pisch">{{Cite book |last=Pisch |first=Anita |title=The Personality Cult of Stalin in Soviet Posters, 1929–1953 |publisher=ANU Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1760460624 |location=Australia |pages=87–190}}</ref> Seldom did Stalin object to state actions that furthered his cult of personality, however he did oppose some initiatives from Soviet propagandists. When [[Nikolai Yezhov]] proposed to rename [[Moscow]] to "Stalinodar", which translates to "gift of Stalin", Stalin objected.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kotkin|first=Stephen|date=1995|title=Review of Stalinist Terror: New Perspectives|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/131639|journal=The Russian Review|volume=54|issue=4|pages=635–637|doi=10.2307/131639|jstor=131639|issn=0036-0341}}</ref> To merge the idea of the Lenin and Stalin cults together, Stalin changed aspects of Lenin's life in the public's eye in order to place himself in power. This kept the two cults in a line that showed that both Lenin and Stalin had the same ideas and that Stalin was the rightful successor of Lenin, leading the USSR in the fashion Lenin would have.<ref name="Tucker" />

[[File:Poster of Azerbaijan 1938. Constitutions.jpg|thumb|Soviet poster in the [[Azerbaijani language]] featuring [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]], 1938|left|275x275px]]

In December 1929, Stalin celebrated his 50th birthday which made Stalin become a prominent feature in the Soviet press.{{sfn|Gill|1980}} The [[Printed media in the Soviet Union|Soviet press]] used positive adjectives like, "Great", "Beloved", "Bold", "Wise", "Inspirer", and "Genius" to describe him.{{sfn|Gunther|1936|pp=516–517, 530–532, 534–535}} Similarly, speeches that were given by people to the peasants described Stalin as "Our Best Collective Farm Worker", "Our [[Udarnik|Shockworker]], Our Best of Best", and "Our Darling, Our Guiding Star".{{sfn|Gunther|1936|pp=516–517, 530–532, 534–535}} By 1934, under Stalin's full control of the country, [[socialist realism]] became the endorsed method of art and literature.<ref name="Pisch" /> Even under the communist regime, the Stalin cult of personality portrayed Stalin's leadership as patriarchy under the features laid out during Khrushchev's speech.<ref name="Pittman" /> After 1936, the Soviet press described Stalin as the "Father of Nations".<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 21, 2017 |title=Joseph Stalin's Cult Of Personality |url=https://historycollection.com/joseph-stalin-cult-personality/ |website=History Collection}}</ref>

One key element of [[Propaganda in the Soviet Union|Soviet propaganda]] was interactions between Stalin and the children of the Soviet Union. He was often photographed with children of different ethnic backgrounds of the Soviet Union and was often photographed giving gifts to children. In 1935 the phrase, "Thank You, Dear Comrade Stalin, for a Happy Childhood!" started to appear above doorways at nurseries, orphanages, and schools; children also chanted this slogan at festivals.{{sfn|Kelly|2005|pp=206–207}} Another key element of Soviet propaganda was imagery of Stalin and Lenin. In many posters, Stalin and Lenin were placed together to show their camaraderie and that their ideals were one. Throughout the 1930s, posters with both images were used as a way to bring the nation and the military together under the policies of the Communist Party during [[World War II]], with the idea of Lenin as the father of the revolutionary ideas and Stalin as the disciple who would fulfill the communist ideals.<ref name="Pisch" /> Stalin was also portrayed in numerous films produced by [[Mosfilm]], which remained a Soviet-led company until the fall of the Soviet Union.

=== Syria ===
{{See also|Assad dynasty}}
[[File:Pounds_President_Assad-silver.jpg|thumb|Syrian silver pound with [[Hafez al-Assad]]'s image carved into it]]
Syria's [[Hafez al-Assad]], a [[Ba'athism|Ba'athist]] officer who seized power through a [[1970 Syrian coup d'état|coup d'état in 1970]], established a pervasive cult of personality to maintain his dictatorship. As soon as he took over power, Ba'ath party loyalists designated him as "''Al-Abad''"; an Arabic terminology with deep religious dimensions. Linguistically, <nowiki>''</nowiki>''Al-Abad''<nowiki>''</nowiki> means "forever, infinite and immortality" and religious clerics use this term in relation to [[Attributes of God in Islam|Divine Attributes]]. By designating Assad as "''Al-Abad''", [[Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction)|Syrian Ba'ath Movement]] ideologically elevated Hafez al-Assad as its "Immortal", "god-like figure" who is supposed to represent the state as well as the [[Syrians|Syrian nation]] itself. Another meaning of ''Al-Abad'' is "permanent", which is used in state propaganda to denote the perpetual ''status quo'' of an "eternal political order" created by Hafez al-Assad, who continues to live in Assadist ideology. The term's verbal form "''Abada''" means "to commit [[genocide]]" including the "symbolical; performative side of violence". This dimension has been weaponized by the Assad regime to monopolize violence against alleged dissidents and justify [[state terrorism]], including genocidal acts of mass murder like the [[1982 Hama massacre|Hama Massacre]], [[2004 Qamishli riots|Qamishli Massacre]] and other [[List of massacres during the Syrian civil war|massacres of the Syrian civil war]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last=Bader Eddin |first=Eylaf |date=8 November 2022 |title=Al-Abad: On the Ongoing |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mjcc/15/4/article-p367_5.xml?language=en&ebody=full%20html-copy1 |journal=Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=367–372 |doi=10.1163/18739865-01504004 |s2cid=253455744 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604090746/https://brill.com/view/journals/mjcc/15/4/article-p367_5.xml?language=en&ebody=full%20html-copy1 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |via=Brill|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Arab Socialist Ba'ath party]] initially manufactured Hafez al-Assad's cult of [[Arab socialism|Arab socialist]] heroism in consultancy with [[Soviet propaganda|Soviet state propagandists]], mimicking the pervasive personality cults prevalent across [[Soviet Bloc]] dictatorships like [[Romania]] and North Korea. Beginning as a tool to bind every Syrian citizen with the obligation of undying loyalty (''bay'ah'') to Assad in 1970s, the propaganda was further intensified and personalist depictions reached new heights during the 1980s. The state began re-writing [[History of Syria|Syrian history]] itself, with the Ba'ath party deifying Hafez al-Assad as their "leader for eternity" ["''qa'iduna ila l-abad''"] and portraying him as "the second [[Saladin]]" who guarantees [[Arabs|Arab peoples]] victory over [[Zionist]] [[Crusaders]]. Through kindergarten, school books, educational institutions and [[Media in Syria|Baathist media]]; Assadist propaganda constructed the image of a homogenous [[Arab nation]] protected by a fatherly leader revelling under the "cult of Saladin". Assad regime venerates Hafez al-Assad's [[Personalist dictator|personalist]] [[iconography]] perpetually in the public and private spheres of everyday Syrian life; through monuments, images, murals, posters, statues, stamps, Ba'athist symbolism, currency notes, photos, banners, state TV, etc.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gruber, Haugbolle |first1=Christiane, Sune |title=Visual Culture in the Modern Middle East: Rhetoric of the Image |last2=Heidemann |first2=Stefan |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-253-00884-8 |location=Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA |pages=57–75 |chapter=3: Memory and Ideology: Images of Saladin in Syria and Iraq}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=15 February 2017 |title=From Kurdish Sultan to Pan-Arab Champion and Muslim Hero: The Evolution of the Saladin Myth in Popular Arab Culture |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpcu.12503 |journal=The Journal of Popular Culture |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=65–83 |doi=10.1111/jpcu.12503 |via=Wiley Online Library |last1=Sayfo |first1=Omar |hdl=1874/361826 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> 
More than a leader of the masses, Ba'athist propaganda equated Hafez al-Assad itself with "the people", apart from declaring him as the "[[father of the nation]]" and as an exceptional human being; being assigned with multiple roles as a doctor, soldier, lawyer, educator, statesman, general, etc. Every civil society organization, trade union and any form of cultural or religious associations in Syria, are obliged to declare their "binding covenant to Hafez al-Assad and display his iconography, in order to be legalized. The far-reaching personality cult of his father has been weaponized by [[Bashar al-Assad]] as a pillar of his regime's legitimacy and also as a supplement to enhance his own personality cult. Bashar's cult downplays religious elements for technocratic Arab socialist themes, with a constant [[militaristic]] emphasis on conspiratorial threats from forces of Zionism due to an allegedly ongoing "dormant war with [[Israel]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gruber, Haugbolle |first1=Christiane, Sune |title=Visual Culture in the Modern Middle East: Rhetoric of the Image |last2=Heidemann |first2=Stefan |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-253-00884-8 |location=Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA |pages=67–74 |chapter=3: Memory and Ideology: Images of Saladin in Syria and Iraq}}</ref>

One utilization of the personality cult has been to enable the Assad dynasty to downplay the rural [[Alawite]] origins of their family from public eyes. Images of [[Assad family]] members are installed across Syria's numerous heritage sites and monuments, to wed the dynasty with [[Ba'athist Syria]]n history. Murals and statues of Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad are constructed across Syrian cities, towns, villages, etc. depicting them in the costumes of medieval [[Bedouin]]s or as sultans like [[Harun al-Rashid]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gruber, Haugbolle |first1=Christiane, Sune |title=Visual Culture in the Modern Middle East: Rhetoric of the Image |last2=Heidemann |first2=Stefan |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-253-00884-8 |location=Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA |pages=79–80 |chapter=3: Memory and Ideology: Images of Saladin in Syria and Iraq}}</ref> Assadist cult of personality functions as a [[Psychological warfare|psychological tool]] for the totalitarian regime; which attempts to claim towards the Syrian society that the Ba'athist system shall continue ruling eternally, forever, with no end.<ref name="auto" />

===Turkey===
{{Main article|List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Neo-Ottomanism|Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's cult of personality|Kemalism|Public image of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğanism}}{{Excerpt|List of cults of personality#Turkey}}

===United States===
{{Main article|Trumpism|Reaganism|Huey Long}}

===Venezuela===
{{Main article|Hugo Chávez's cult of personality}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Authoritarian personality]]
* [[Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four'')]]
* [[Bolivarianism]]
* [[Bolsonarism]]
* [[Bonapartism]]
* [[Bread and circuses]]
* [[Celebrity worship syndrome]]
* [[Charismatic authority]]
* [[Chavismo]]
* [[Communism]]
* [[Cult of Personality (song)]]
* [[Dictatorship]]
* [[Erdoğanism]]
* [[Fascism]]
* [[Feudalism]]
* [[Fujimorism]]
* [[Gandhism]]
* [[God complex]]
* [[Great man theory]]
* [[Halo effect]]
* [[Horn effect]]
* [[Hoxhaism]]
* [[Imperial cult]]
* [[Kemalism]]
* [[Khomeinism]]
* [[Kirchnerism]]
* [[Leaderism]]
* [[Leninism]]
* [[Lèse-majesté]]
* [[List of cults of personality]]
* [[List of messiah claimants]]
* [[Maoism]]
* [[Marxism–Leninism]]
* [[Monarchy]]
* [[Narcissism]]
* [[Narcissistic leadership]]
* [[Nasserism]]
* [[Nazism]]
* [[Peronism]]
* [[Personality and image of Queen Elizabeth II]]
* [[Pinochetism]]
* [[Putinism]]
* [[Supreme leader]]
* [[Sycophancy]]
* [[Titoism]]
* [[Trotskyism]]
* [[Trumpism]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography
* {{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Richard J. B. |title=Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship, 1915–1945 |publisher=Penguin Adult |year=2006 |isbn=978-0141012919}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Richard J. B. |title=Mussolini |publisher=A&C Black |year=2014 |isbn=978-1849660242}}
* {{Cite book |last=Brendon |first=Piers |title=The Dark Valley |publisher=Random House |year=2016 |isbn=978-1446496329}}
* {{Cite book |last=Falasca-Zamponi |first=Simonetta |title=Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy |publisher=University of California Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0520226777}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gallo |first=Max |title=Mussolini's Italy; Twenty Years of the Fascist Era |publisher=Macmillan |year=1973}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gill |first=Graeme |year=1980 |title=The Soviet Leader Cult: Reflections on the Structure of Leadership in the Soviet Union |journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=10 |issue=167 |pages=167–186 |doi=10.1017/S0007123400002088|s2cid=155049543 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Gundle |first1=Stephen |title=The cult of the Duce: Mussolini and the Italians |last2=Duggan |first2=Christopher |last3=Pieri |first3=Giuliana |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1526101419}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gunther |first=John |title=Inside Europe |publisher=Harper & brothers |year=1936}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Alastair |title=Appeal of Fascism |publisher=Harper Mass Market Paperbacks |year=1973 |isbn=978-0380010257}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kelly |first=Catriona |year=2005 |title=Riding the Magic Carpet: Children and Leader Cult in the Stalin Era |journal=The Slavic and East European Journal |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=199–224 |doi=10.2307/20058260 |jstor=20058260}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kershaw |first=Ian |title=The 'Hitler Myth'. Image and Reality in the Third Reich |year=1998}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kershaw |first=Ian |title=Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |year=2001 |isbn=978-0141925813}}
* {{Cite book |last=Plamper |first=Jan |title=The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power |publisher=New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0300169522}}
* {{Cite book |last=Speer |first=Albert |title=Inside The Third Reich |publisher=Orion |year=2009 |isbn=978-1842127353}}
* {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Manuela |title=Mussolini's Propaganda Abroad: Subversion in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, 1935–1940 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2006 |isbn=978-0203004777}}

;Further reading
* {{Cite book |editor-last1=Apor |editor-first1=Balázs |editor-last2=Behrends |editor-first2=Jan C. |editor-link2=Jan C. Behrends |editor-last3=Jones |editor-first3=Polly |editor-last4=Rees |editor-first4=E. A. |year=2004 |title=The Leader Cult in Communist Dictatorships: Stalin and the Eastern Bloc |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=1403934436}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Yves |date=2007 |title=The cult of number one in an age of leaders |url=https://www.academia.edu/5851322 |journal=Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=597–634 |doi=10.1353/kri.2007.0032 |access-date=September 7, 2018 |s2cid=144730066}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dikötter |first=Frank |title=Dictators: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=978-1526626981 |location=London}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gill |first=Graeme |date=1984 |title=Personality cult, political culture and party structure |journal=Studies in Comparative Communism |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=111–121 |doi=10.1016/0039-3592(84)90008-5}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Melograni |first=Piero |date=1976 |title=The Cult of the Duce in Mussolini's Italy |url=https://learn.gold.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/260341/mod_resource/content/0/DictatorsReading/CultofDuce.pdf |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=221–237 |doi=10.1177/002200947601100411 |access-date=September 7, 2018 |s2cid=150787157}}
* {{Cite book |last=Morgan |first=Kevin |year=2017 |title=International Communism and the Cult of the Individual Leaders, Tribunes and Martyrs under Lenin and Stalin |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1349953370}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Paltiel |first=Jeremy |date=1983 |title=The Cult of Personality: Some Comparative Reflections on Political Culture in Leninist Regimes |journal=Studies in Comparative Communism |volume=16 |issue=1–2 |pages=49–64 |doi=10.1016/0039-3592(83)90043-1}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |author-last=Petrone |author-first=Karen |year=2004 |title=Cult of Personality |editor-last=Millar |editor-first=James R. |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Russian History |volume=1 |pages=348–350 |isbn=978-0028656946}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Polese |first1=Abel |last2=Horák |first2=Slavomir |date=2015 |title=A tale of two presidents: personality cult and symbolic nation-building in Turkmenistan |journal=Nationalities Papers |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=457–478 |doi=10.1080/00905992.2015.1028913 |s2cid=142510277}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |author-last=Rutland |author-first=P. |year=2011 |title=Cult of Personality |editor-last=Kurian |editor-first=George Thomas |editor-link=George Thomas Kurian |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Political Science |location=Washington. D.C. |publisher=CQ Press |volume=1 |page=365 |isbn=978-1608712434}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |author-last=Vassilev |author-first=Rossen |year=2008 |title=Cult of Personality |editor-last=Darity Jr. |editor-first=William A. |editor-link=William A. Darity Jr. |encyclopedia=[[International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences]] |isbn=978-0028659657}}

==External links==
* [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204908604574336383324209824#mod=article-outset-box Why Dictators Love Kitsch] by Eric Gibson, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', August 10, 2009

{{Media culture}}
{{Media manipulation}}{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Society|Politics}}

[[Category:Cults of personality| ]]
[[Category:Dictatorship]]
[[Category:Political terminology]]