Josef Stalin, that
Georgian-turned-
Russian
Nationalist, so wanted to be that nation's one-and-only "
messiah" that he literally erased his opponents from
history.
Trotsky standing behind
Lenin in that
photo? No problem! Replace him with a wooden
staircase!
A rather
amateur job was done of it; anyone today with the appropriate
software could do better. The ghostly visage or the detached elbow of a discredited leader could be seen in many cases - perhaps deliberately, as a reminder to all those who would dare challenge
Stalin?