Some friends had a toddler who was terrified of vacuum cleaners. As a result, whenever they visited someone, before anything else could happen, the household's vacuum cleaner had to be brought out so that the child could propitiate it and be reassured that the vacuum would not come after him.
When my (Romanian) parents or their friends spoke of Stalin, there was fear in their voice. That's what I remember. Orwell, too, tells us in 1984 of how the love/worship of Big Brother came about through torture/terror.
Chris, I trust to your familiarity with Russian history and culture, but when you speak of Stalin-worship, maybe some qualification is needed.
Joanna