Book Cover
E-book
Author Apor, Balázs, author.

Title The invisible shining : the cult of Mátyás Rákosi in Stalinist Hungary, 1945-1956 / Balázs Apor
Published Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, 2017
©2017

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Description 1 online resource (xiv, 388 pages)
Contents 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
Summary 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 following in Hungary. The main argument of Balázs Apor is that the cult of personality is not just a curious aspect of communist dictatorship, it is an essential element of it.0The 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. Separate chapters present visual and non-visual methods of cult construction.0The author engages with a wider international literature on Stalinist cults in an impressive manner. Apor 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
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on May 11, 2018)
Subject Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971 -- Public opinion
Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971 -- Influence
SUBJECT Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971 -- Influence
Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971 -- Public opinion
Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971 fast
Subject Cults -- Political aspects -- Hungary -- History -- 20th century
Public opinion -- Hungary -- History -- 20th century
Communism -- Hungary -- History -- 20th century
Nationalism -- Hungary -- History -- 20th century
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Ideologies -- Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism.
HISTORY -- Europe -- Germany.
Communism
Cults -- Political aspects
Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
Nationalism
Politics and government
Public opinion
SUBJECT Hungary -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85063081
Subject Hungary
Genre/Form Electronic books
History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2017010563
ISBN 9789633861936
9633861934