Remembering Stalin: Mythopoetic Elements in Memories of the Soviet Dictator

Author: Skradol Natalia  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1469-0764

Source: Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, Vol.10, Iss.1, 2009-03, pp. : 19-41

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Abstract

The article analyses mythopoetical elements in a distinctly Stalinist genre of biographical writing - reminiscences of rank-and-file citizens who supposedly had come into contact with Stalin long before he became leader of the party and the State. Fictionalisation of personal and collective memory is discussed as part of the process of constructing new identities and personal histories through utilising traditional folkloristic tropes.