V.I. Lenin’s Cult of Personality in the Soviet Union: A Conceptual Analysis On ‘Book Reading’ and ‘Knowledge Acquisition’

Abstract

The personality cult of many leaders in the management of ideologies such as Communism, Nazism, Fascism and Phalangism that came to power in Europe in the 20th century was formed. One of the prominent and long-lasting ones among these was the personality cult of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union. Lenin’s personality cult also existed during the rule of the Soviet Union (1922-1991). In the Soviet Union, Lenin’s personality cult was used for various purposes, from promoting production to the propaganda of the Communist ideology. Lenin’s personality cult was also used in shaping the reading habit of the people of the Soviet Union. It was aimed to reveal the role of Lenin’s personality cult in shaping the reading habit of the people of the Soviet Union in this study. For this purpose, the posters about Lenin’s personality cult in the book reading habit dimension were analyzed using semiotics method. In light of the findings, it was revealed that Lenin’s ideas and the ideology of USSR were identified in the posters and that the reading of books and knowledge acquisition reflecting Lenin’s thoughts was encouraged in the process of ideologically placing them. When evaluated in general, it was concluded that the people of the Soviet Union were tried to gain the habit of reading books and knowledge acquisition through the personality cult of Lenin and that the reading culture was also tried to be shaped by emphasizing which books to read.