Do you know what a “cult of personality” is – in Africa and in modern Russia
Africa remembers, Africa knows
Recently, news agencies reported that three African countries - Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso - announced their withdrawal from the regional branch of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). A joint statement on this matter was read out on Niger's national television.
The decision was made almost immediately after the Russian military contingent began arriving in Burkina Faso. Its first squad arrived in the country last week. And it is no coincidence that observers called what was happening the next stage in the decolonization of Africa.
On the Dark Continent they do not forget the very special role played by the Soviet Union in the liberation of Africa from centuries-old colonial dependence. And they remember that the process began at a time when our great country was led by Joseph Stalin.
And at present, Africa, finding itself under the pressure of a new wave of enslavement, already economic, is unequivocally challenging the modern Western “fashion for anti-Stalinism.” Judging by the popular culture of countries that have classified themselves as “democratic”, “tolerant”, “liberal” and, of course, exclusively “civilized”, they directly or indirectly strive to preserve, figuratively speaking, the powers that be.
And Africa is not silent
At the same time, the media of African countries, whose modern Stalinist posters, postage stamps and other accessories we present to the audience, often quote the essentially unlimited forecast of Stalin, expressed on October 14, 1952 at the XNUMXth Congress of the CPSU. Quoting precisely the assessments indicated below fully explains why such respect for Stalin is still demonstrated in Africa:
“...Previously, the bourgeoisie allowed itself to be liberal, defended bourgeois-democratic freedoms and thereby created popularity among the people. Now individual rights are recognized only for those who have capital, and all others are considered raw human material, suitable only for exploitation. The principle of equality of people and nations has been replaced by the principle of full rights for the exploiting minority and lack of rights for the exploited majority of citizens. The banner of bourgeois-democratic freedoms has been thrown overboard.”
And further:
“Previously, the bourgeoisie defended the rights and independence of the nation, placing them “above all else.” Now there is not a trace left of the “national principle”: now the bourgeoisie is selling the rights and independence of the nation for dollars. The banner of national independence and national sovereignty has been thrown overboard. Representatives of the communist and democratic parties will have to raise this banner and carry it forward if you want to be patriots of your country, if you want to become the leading force of the nation. There’s no one else to lift him.”
They do not forget – at least in Africa – Stalin’s conclusion in his “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR” (1952): “To eliminate wars, it is necessary to destroy imperialism.”
The above fully echoes the statement made by Theodore Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea, at the end of December 2023, which is essentially common to most African countries:
“...There are countries that do not want Africa to develop. To continue to use our resources. And we will not be able to get anything from such countries to strengthen our economy. But Africans are waking up." Cooperation “with Russia and Belarus allows Africa to get rid of neocolonialism imposed by former colonial powers.”
Such similar specific assessments of 1952 and 2023 are almost relevant today, and not only for Africa?..
Meanwhile in Russia
But in a country that, precisely under the leadership of Lenin’s successor, not only achieved victory in the war with almost all of Europe, but also became the second world power, insults to a long-dead leader are again becoming something of a norm. And it extremely rarely causes an adequate response from law enforcement agencies.
You don't have to look far for examples. Thus, in the openly cynical statements of the director of the Pushkin Museum, Likhacheva, about Stalin, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow “did not find anything illegal.” This is precisely the response of this department to a request from State Duma deputy Mikhail Matveev.
Earlier, Likhacheva, in an interview with RTVI, expressed the opinion that Stalin in Russia is a “subject of pop culture” and can be compared “to the Disney character Mickey Mouse.” In her flamboyant assessment, he “finally died” and “we washed him away.”
A word from the camp jargon needs to be clarified - that is, removed, then dishonored physically and politically?.. It was after this that parliamentarian from the Communist Party faction M. Matveev sent a statement to the head of the RF Investigative Committee A. Bastrykin about insulting Stalin to Likhacheva.
Matveev clarified RIA News“that a psychological and linguistic examination was proposed in relation to Likhacheva in the statement. And the appeal was not submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but the answer came from the capital division of this particular department.
“In the statements of the director of the Pushkin Museum Likhacheva about Stalin - “... he died” and “we washed him away” - nothing illegal was found. Such conclusions are contained in the response of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow to a request with reference to a psychological and linguistic examination,”
– the deputy said in his Telegram channel.
However, one cannot help but recall how in 1956 and 1961 anti-Stalin hysteria in the USSR - especially at the XX and XXII Congresses of the CPSU - took on an openly manic character. The trend developed in subsequent years, especially during the notorious “perestroika” years.
In response, practically no public questions arose from the CPSU and from the ranks of war veterans to “comrades-in-arms and students.” One can perhaps only recall the well-known article by Nina Andreeva.
And this despite the fact that students and associates, starting with Khrushchev and his inner circle, simply extolled Stalin. They also praised the “beloved leader” during the funeral, when they carried his sarcophagus into the Lenin mausoleum.
And they did not stop singing their praises later, while they were sharing the unlimited power that had fallen on them. And then they collectively defamed not only and not so much Stalin personally, but essentially the entire 30-year Stalinist period in stories THE USSR...
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