User:BMitchellAdkins/sandbox

Article Evaluation

Module 2 article evaluation of Wikipedia's 'Stalin's Cult of Personality' to not only learn more about Stalin's cult of personality, but to assess the questions within the WikiEdu course requirements.


 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?

The article appears neutral and well referenced. The claims have citations consistent throughout the article and there appears to be no prevailing bias. The position that Stalin had a cult of personality is the topic, and the content, references, and sections seem to confirm this position. I particularly like the section titled “Stalin’s opinion of his cult” because that argues the balance he kept throughout his life and how he was able to weaponize the public and their opinion so well that it becomes a notable point in the history of his life and the argument.


 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?

The couple of citations checked do match the content of the article and the sources checked appear to be reliable from the couple reviewed. More review and research would be required on this topic.


 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?

Many of the references cited come from universities, journals, encyclopedias, textbooks, and transcriptions. Some of the references lack links that would indicate whether they are licensed free to use for Wikipedia, and some lack specifics to complete the citations. I would observe that too many links are missing to honestly say there is no bias, so some bias may exist within this article from the cited sources.


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?

The conversation on this article consists of two comments with no replies, one stating this appears to be more suited for WikiProject Trotskyism, and unsigned. The other comment is arguing that Stalin’s cult of personality didn’t exist and the article should be deleted, that the perceived cult of personality was voluntary, with a quote from Stalin the comment author attributes to a volume from 1954, and also unsigned. These are both old comments, and frankly one appears to be trolling, and the other is taking Stalin at his word, which reads like a humble-brag, that would conflict with his actions throughout his reign.

To be clear, the quote from the comment recommending deletion was from a speech by Joseph V. Stalin on June 8, 1926, where he was replying to the zealous greeting he had received from the workers of the Railway Workshops in Tiflis. Reading the full speech, he was clearly attributing his personality and success to his tutelage by Lenin and others, and grandstanding through perceived humility to impress and increase his stature as a proletariat leader, a man of the people, like the people, for the people. The quote used to recommend the deletion was misused and in context supports the existence of Stalin’s cult of personality.


 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?

This article is rated as a ‘Start’ class for quality, rated as ‘Mid’ class for importance, and part of WikiProjects Soviet Union and Psychology.