Personal letters became material for campaigns portraying Stalin as simple and concerned for the people. His study of absolutism and historical rulers is interpreted as a practical search for techniques of power. Meetings with selected workers received press and cinema coverage. Reducing the number of public appearances could then make each appearance seem more significant. The same public image credited success to Stalin while assigning mistakes and abuses to clerks, local officials, or supposed wreckers. Claims that he had been misled by subordinates are treated as a continuation of that cultivated distinction.
Notable Point · 3:05:13-3:07:10
Publicity, scarce appearances, and blame under Stalin
Personal kindness became propaganda while successful policies were credited to Stalin and failures assigned to officials or wreckers.