Silver medal Cult of personality - Josif Stalin - proof

Cult of personality

The fourth silver medal of the Czech Mint from the series entitled Cult of Personality features the despicable figure of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

"Comrade Stalin, as General Secretary, has concentrated enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure that he can always use it prudently enough. Therefore, I suggest to the comrades that they consider removing Stalin from this post and appointing another man to it," wrote the dying Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who realised too late that the man he had chosen as his successor was not a loyal toady but a bloodthirsty monster longing for world domination. Unfortunately, the proposal of the architect of the Bolshevik Revolution went unheeded, and Stalin quickly came to dominate the Soviet Union and its surroundings. He relied on mass arrests, fabricated trials, political purges, executions and labour camps. Thanks to his paranoia, no one could be sure - he liquidated businessmen, farmers, intellectuals and committed communists. For every year of Stalin's absolute rule from 1929-1953, at least one million Soviets were imprisoned or murdered. Other millions perished from starvation... Despite these atrocities, the people respected and sincerely loved Stalin - mistaking him for a caring father with only their welfare at heart. So strong was his cult of personality. Although the image of the all-powerful, all-knowing and all-pervasive leader was condemned after Stalin's death, it has endured to this day. Many people in the countries of the former Soviet Union still regard the "Man of Steel" not as a dictator, but as the man who led them to victory in World War II and who made their country a superpower...

The obverse side of the ducat, which is the work of academic sculptor Jiří Dostál, presents a characteristic portrait of Stalin."The reverse side is filled with a composition inspired by the five-pointed star, which symbolically expresses the expansion and brutality of the Stalinist era. Below, in two lines, a quote said by Stalin is loosely transcribed in Latin: NO MAN, NO PROBLEMS. The letters in the space of the star are abbreviations of Russian words:G – gulag, K – kazni (executions), C – cilka (exile),“ the author explains.

An integral part of the issue is a special appendix that offers an objective view of Joseph Stalin through the eyes of historian Pavel Kosatik.