Cult of personality

Soviet poster featuring Stalin, Soviet Azerbaijan, 1938

Sometimes, governments create idealized images of people. Very often, these people are current or former leaders of the country. What will then result is a cult of personality, or cult of the leader. Techniques such as mass media, propaganda, fake news, spectacle, the arts and patriotism are used to create this image. The leader is shown as a hero, with few or no negative traits. Social engineering is also used very often, especially in one-party states and dominant-party states. A cult of personality often accompanies the leader of a totalitarian or authoritarian countries. It can also be seen in some monarchies, theocracies, and failed democracies.

Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century CE

Ho Chi Minh statue in front of the City Hall of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) in Vietnam

Statue of Mao Zedong in China

Cult Of Personality Media

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, romantic version by Jacques-Louis David in 1805
"Smith of the New Great Argentina" (poster 1947)
Mritunjoyi Mujib at Islamic University in Kushtia. It was demolished after the Student–People's uprising in August 2024.
ROC-China propaganda poster proclaiming "Long Live the President", gloryfying Chiang Kai Shek
Statue of Mao Zedong in China
Nazi official with a portrait of Miklós Horthy, 1940
"Kids, you have to love Benito Mussolini. He always works for the good of the Fatherland and the Italian people. You have heard this many times, from your dad, mom, or teacher: If Italy is now far more powerful than before, we owe it to Him." (1936 first-grade textbook)
1940s print from North India showing Mahatma Gandhi as the son of Bharat Mata.