The invisible shining : the cult of Mátyás Rákosi in Stalinist Hungary, 1945-1956 / Balázs Apor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Apor, Balázs, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971--Public opinion.

Rákosi, Mátyás.

Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971--Influence.

Rákosi, Mátyás, 1892-1971.

Cults--Political aspects--Hungary--History--20th century.

Cults.

Public opinion--Hungary--History--20th century.

Public opinion.

Communism--Hungary--History--20th century.

Communism.

Nationalism--Hungary--History--20th century.

Nationalism.

History.

Cults--Political aspects.

Hungary--Politics and government--1945-1989.

Hungary.

Politics and government.

Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 388 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, 2017.

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.

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Apor, Balázs. "Invisible shining".

ISBN:

9789633861929

9633861926

OCLC:

974567414