Totalitarian leaders used extensive propaganda campaigns to enlist the support of the masses. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini repeatedly linked his regime to the glory of ancient Rome. Here he has donned the costume of a legionary to lead a parade in front of the Roman Coliseum (below, top). The Soviet dictator Stalin presented himself as the friend of all humankind. In this propaganda poster (below, bottom), titled “The Great Stalin is the Banner of Friendship Between the Peoples of the U.S.S.R.!” he receives flowers from a diverse group of Soviet citizens, including ethnic Russians and East and Central Asians. This idealized testament to peaceful coexistence within the Soviet empire masked the tensions aroused by Russian domination.

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