The cult of personality that surrounded Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union led soviet citizens to believe that there was undisputed support for Stalin both among the government and the common people. In turn, this fueled self-censorship and made political change harder.
This cult of personality was achieved through propaganda and censorship, as the Communist Party had control of all mass media. This desire to make himself a "god-like" figure was also an attempt to increase acceptance of communism among the people and to boost morale.
The lyrics come from the Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the then 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.
Defintion: the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.
