Why did Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Breznev wear military uniforms when Lenin and the later Soviet leaders did not?

Question

I know that dictators wore uniforms to make their look intimidating. It is OK.

Why Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev wore military uniforms when Lenin and the later Soviet leaders did not?

Weren't Lenin and the other Soviet leaders dictators?

Answer 1

I think your information is incorrect. I think Khrushchev very rarely wore military uniform when he became a leader.

The son of Nikita Khrushchev tells in his memoirs http://lib.rtg.su/memor/35/84.html that until 1958 Khrushchev had only WWII front-line uniform. In 1958 for the 40-years jubilee of the Soviet Army he sewed a new uniform for the occasion, in which he did several photos, one of which I suppose is shown in the question.

Similarly Brezhnev usually appeared and was portrayed in civil suit.

Among Soviet leaders only Stalin somehow preferred a military-like costume, and never wore a necktie. This can be traced to the times when he was still far from supreme power, like in this image from 1919:

Answer 2

Stalin Khruschev and Brezhnev all participated in the "Great Patriotic War" (otherwise known as World War II). That's why they wore military uniforms, even afterwards.

The other Soviet leaders did not (at least not in their role as party leaders). Lenin was PRE World War II, the others were POST World War II.

Answer 3

Lenin was never a military leader so never had a uniform.

For the first half of his rule, Stalin was at war with Germany and the uniform was a sign of their joint struggle against the invaders etc. After the war it was a good reminder of the struggle they had faced together.

Krushchev was never really a soldier and didn't wear a uniform.

I don't remember Breznev particularly wearing a uniform - except perhaps at military parades. He was a major-general in the war but only really a political office rather than a frontline commander - so the army may have taken a dim view of him pretending to be a real soldier.

Weren't Lenin and the other Soviet leaders dictators?

Dictators is a bit of an immotive term. By one definition Hitler was a democratically elected politician, while the Dalai Llama is an absolute religous dictator

A uniform is a costume like any other. Oil state Arab leaders dress in traditional desert robes to re-assure their subjects that while they might be jetting off to Paris really they are a historical tie to the desert.

Typical south american right-wing military leader dress up as cartoon generals to make it clear to the army that they consider the army of extreme importance, and to make it clear to the people that a proper army is in control. Typical south american communist leaders dress in simple green fatigues of the regular soldier to show the army that they are one of them and the show the people that they are humble leaders of the peasants.

Answer 4

Being a "dictator" is about how power is concentrated and exercised. There's no required uniform. :-)

One could argue that Soviet leaders after Stalin were not in fact dictators, as they were ultimately answerable to the Central Comittee (and occasionally removed by it).