1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910797095103321

Autore

Apor Balázs

Titolo

The "Invisible shining" : the cult of Mátyás Rákosi in Stalinist Hungary, 1945-1956 / / Balázs Apor

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Budapest, Hungary ; ; New York, New York : , : Central European University Press, , 2017

©2017

ISBN

963-386-193-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (417 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

943.9052092

Soggetti

Cults - Political aspects - Hungary - History - 20th century

Public opinion - Hungary - History - 20th century

Communism - Hungary - History - 20th century

Nationalism - Hungary - History - 20th century

Hungary Politics and government 1945-1989

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: The Stalinist leader cult : origins, interpretations, and functions -- Part I. The construction of the cult -- The chronology of cult construction (1925-1953) -- The institutions and agents of cult construction -- "The biography is a very serious issue" : the role of biographies in constructing the Rákosi cult -- "He was created by a thousand years" : nationalism and the leader cult -- "Comrade Rákosi lives with us" : the visual and the spatial aspects of the Rákosi cult -- Part II. Responses to the cult's expansion -- "Love for Comrade Rákosi has become deeper" : the communicative influence of the cult -- "Death to Uncle Rákosi!" : negative perceptions of the cult -- Ignorance is bliss : popular indifference and the shortcomings of communist propaganda -- Part III. The dismantling of the cult -- The "new course" and the decay of the Rákosi cult, 1953-1956 -- The collapse of the Rákosi cult.

Sommario/riassunto

This book offers a detailed analysis of the construction, reception, and eventual decline of the cult of the Hungarian Communist Party Secretary, Mátyás Rákosi, one of the most striking examples of



orchestrated adulation in the Soviet bloc. While his cult never approached the magnitude of that of Stalin, Rákosi’s ambition to outshine the other “best disciples” and become the best of the best was manifest in his diligence in promoting a Soviet-type ritual system in Hungary. The main argument of The Invisible Shining is that the cult of personality is not just a curious aspect of communist dictatorship, it is an essential element of it. The monograph is primarily concerned with techniques and methods of cult construction, as well as the role various institutions played in the creation of mythical representations of political figures. While engaging with a wider international literature on Stalinist cults, the author uses the case of Rákosi to explore how personality cults are created, how such cults are perceived, and how they are eventually unmade. The book addresses the success—generally questionable—of such projects, as well as their uncomfortable legacies.