The Annexation of History: Eisenstein and the Ivan Grozny Cult of the 1940s

Abstract

Bernd Uhlenbruch sees Stalin's efforts in revising the Ivan Grozny cult as a kind of "pre-emptive strike": he was forced to "occupy" the historical realm in order to prevent his opponents to use historical parallels against him. The outstanding achievement of Stalin in this respect was his ability to turn criticism into affirmation, and reverse criticism founded in historical parallels to that of his own self-stylization.