Why Did Stalin Absolutely Hate Clapping?

The Soviet Union under Stalin was an awful place to be. He ushered in a cult of personality which prevented any criticism of the paranoid Soviet dictator. People became so afraid that at the end of his speeches, no one would dare be the first one to stop clapping. Reports from the Gulag Archipelago suggest that sometimes Stalin’s audience wouldn’t stop clapping for over 11 minutes. In fact, it was even reported that the first man who did stop clapping was arrested by the security services and told never to he the first to stop clapping, before being promptly sent to a gulab. However, it is also reported that this annoyed Stalin as it distracted from his speeches message and he eventually installed a bell so he could tell people when to stop applauding.

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