The spatial cosmology of the Stalin cult: ritual, myth and metanarrative

Anderson, Jack (2018) The spatial cosmology of the Stalin cult: ritual, myth and metanarrative. MRes thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This paper will focus on Stalin’s use of Soviet space throughout the 1930s and the relationship this had with the developing Stalin cult. In the thirties, Stalin had consolidated power and from as early as 1929 the Stalin cult was beginning to emerge. However, the cult was more than merely an embodiment of the state’s totalitarian nature. It was built on, and sustained by, a complex metanarrative which drew heavily on ritual, mythology and history. By looking at the relationship between the development of the Stalin cult and development of this spatial metanarrative, this paper will focus on the production and projection of the cult onto the Soviet topos, creating what Eric Naiman has termed a “virtual landscape”. In this transient topography Stalin’s cultivation of spatial mythology was essential in the configuration and authentication of the cult. The Stalin cult of the thirties defined, and was in turn itself defined, by two main spaces: Moscow and the Arctic (centre and periphery). By deconstructing the spatial metanarrative attached to these two spaces, this paper will analyse how Stalin used space to facilitate a mental environment that expedited the development of his cult.

• Item Type: Thesis (MRes)
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Stalin Cult, myth, metanarrative, time, space, ritual, rite of passage, Russia 1930s.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DK Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics; H Social Sciences > HX Socialism. Communism. Anarchism
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Supervisor's Name: Marshall, Dr. A.M.
• Date of Award: 2018
• Depositing User: Mr J Anderson
• Unique ID: glathesis:2018-30631
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 27 Mar 2019 09:59
• Last Modified: 03 May 2019 07:39
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/30631