Probably the adventure novels of Fenimore Cooper and films about the conquest of the Wild West became the reason that in our minds the expression "leader of the tribe" is strongly associated with the Indians of the American continent. Nevertheless, the concept is much broader. Let's figure out what it means together.
Who is the leader?
To answer this question, it is necessary to return to the distant past of human civilization, at a time that historians call the primitive communal system. It was then, or rather, during the period of its decomposition, that leaders first appeared, taking charge of the life of the tribe in peacetime or wartime. Unlike the elders of the clan, leaders were elected, therefore their personal qualities and authority played a paramount role.
With the complexity of the hierarchical structure of the tribal system, the responsibilities and functions of such leaders expanded, and the post itself from an elected one turned into a hereditary one. Thus, the process of forming the first state formations of antiquity was going on, headed by the descendants of former leaders, whose power by that time had already acquired an authoritarian and sacred character.
Almost all peoples in their development have passed this stage. Indeed, the leaders were among the Scandinavians, Germans, Slavs and other ancient tribes. Some of them are included in the annals of history, for example, the leader of the Huns - the ruthless Attila.
When Europeans discovered America, the social and social structure of local tribes was at a stage that the peoples of the Old World had long passed. Who is the leader of the Indians? First of all, this is a man of courage, wisdom and possessing qualities that lead the scale of values of this tribe.
Modern leaders
It would be wrong to think that leaders existed only among ancient peoples. Today, the tribal communities of the natives of Africa or America are also led by leaders. However, this word has other meanings in the modern world.
Leadership as a type of relationship in the state and politics was particularly developed in the 20th century. It is characteristic of countries with a totalitarian or authoritarian form of government, regardless of the ideology prevailing in them. It is enough to recall Hitler, Trotsky, Mussolini, Mao Zedong, to understand who such a leader is in modern view.
Documentary film
“Forgotten Leaders” is the name of the series of documentaries filmed by the Star Media group of companies. The tapes tell about the most significant figures in the party leadership of the Soviet Union from 1917 until the death of Stalin I.V. In total, seven films shot in the genre of documentary drama were released. They contain biographies:
- Lawrence Beria.
- Felix Dzerzhinsky.
- Victor Abakumov.
- Vyacheslav Molotov.
- Budyonny seeds.
- Kliment Voroshilov.
- Andrei Zhdanov.
The creators of the project “Forgotten Leaders” set themselves the goal not only of conveying to the audience well-known facts from the biographies of the heroes, but of telling about what each of them did for the state, being in the abyss of historical upheavals. Viewers believe that they did it well.
So, summing up the topic “who is the leader”, we repeat that this term is not a tribute to the past. On the contrary, it is actively used in modern society.