The Apotheosis of the Romanian Communist Worker. The Case of Romanian Socialist Realist Art

Like in all other states of the former communist regime, Romania had Stalin as undisputed prototype of worship of the leader. Simultaneously having two fixed points, politics and economy, the homage of Stalin and, in our case, of the communist worker, has represented the more “visual” method to sovietize Romania. In time, the idea of worker, as well as its symbols, had become synonymous with the idea of building communism, a guarantee of the Communist future of Romania and of the protection of peace and socialism. At first it was only an image, easy to expose, and for ordinary citizens, it did not attract negative attitudes. But as the political elite was changing, forced industrialization and collectivization of agriculture caused massive social unrest; under these conditions, the spread of the cult of Stalin was not perceived as a harmless way to cultivate feelings of closeness to the Soviet Union and, even more, it was hardly acceptable to impose, at that time, a new father figure, almost repulsive, other than the mythical “Liberator Red Army”.