Joseph Stalin, secretary-general of the Communist Party and Soviet paramount leader, enjoyed absolute power, did not like criticism and promoted an ubiquitous cult of personality during his era, which started after the death of Lenin and ended in 1953 with his own death. Soviet propaganda promoted Stalin as a great and caring father for all Soviet nations and as an outstanding Marxist thinker, and people at all levels had to study his thought and follow his example.
Homes in villages were buried partly underground with straw-covered roofs. Walls were built to protect settlements from flooding and hostile neighbors.
