ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three political periods, which are marked by the specificities of the political regime, the relationship between the government and the public, the state of the media and the personality of the leader. Specifically, the authors discuss the state’s use of character assassination under Joseph Stalin between the late 1920s and early 1950s, the so-called ‘years of stagnation’ presided over by Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, and finally, Vladimir Putin’s Russia from 2000 to the present. In addition, this chapter examines the behaviour of political actors from the perspective of political psychology. The leader’s hostility toward the target can often be explained by reference to their personal relationship and differing values. Looking at cases where the country’s political leaders chose to intervene personally also reveals their motives as attackers.
