The image making is an essential part of any kind of political leadership and it is the most evident in case of totalitarianism. That Putin found his role model in Stalin shows how self-righteous he is about propagating aggressive nationalism.
Interestingly, with all his wickedness and inhuman torture on people , Stalin had a strong garb to cover up his menacing image- to fight fascism and exalt the lofty ideal of socialism against capitalism. Unfortunately, Putin does not have any of such ideological pretexts to cover up his guilt. If his Russia is creating another alternative power base against the Western world- the ideological base line for both is capitalism, while, on liberalism there is still reservation on his part.
One thing is very apparent in the political order in many parts of the world- common people want stability and don’t have any faith in any ideology for that matter. Wickedness and corruption in the leadership is taken for granted – therefore, the only thing Putin could assure his Russia seems stability of a kind and people don’t question. Selective amnesia of human experiences create distorted history and therefore , a faulty perception of identity. This too is happening in many parts of the world in contemporary times. Moreover, as a result of false propaganda made through social media popular perceptions of nation, nationalism and leadership are distorted – which are far from reality. The attempt of Putin to compare Stalin with Napoleon Bonaparte and Cromwell vividly shows his perception of leadership so far away from his own land…… and close to mainland Europe in the early modern era. Putin has no alternative ideology to fight his opponents which makes him more transparent and vulnerable in the eyes of his critics.
The image making is an essential part of any kind of political leadership and it is the most evident in case of totalitarianism. That Putin found his role model in Stalin shows how self-righteous he is about propagating aggressive nationalism.
Interestingly, with all his wickedness and inhuman torture on people , Stalin had a strong garb to cover up his menacing image- to fight fascism and exalt the lofty ideal of socialism against capitalism. Unfortunately, Putin does not have any of such ideological pretexts to cover up his guilt. If his Russia is creating another alternative power base against the Western world- the ideological base line for both is capitalism, while, on liberalism there is still reservation on his part.
One thing is very apparent in the political order in many parts of the world- common people want stability and don’t have any faith in any ideology for that matter. Wickedness and corruption in the leadership is taken for granted – therefore, the only thing Putin could assure his Russia seems stability of a kind and people don’t question. Selective amnesia of human experiences create distorted history and therefore , a faulty perception of identity. This too is happening in many parts of the world in contemporary times. Moreover, as a result of false propaganda made through social media popular perceptions of nation, nationalism and leadership are distorted – which are far from reality. The attempt of Putin to compare Stalin with Napoleon Bonaparte and Cromwell vividly shows his perception of leadership so far away from his own land…… and close to mainland Europe in the early modern era. Putin has no alternative ideology to fight his opponents which makes him more transparent and vulnerable in the eyes of his critics.