What role did propaganda play in Bolshevik success?

As a young man, Joseph Stalin had been a student at an Orthodox Seminary. Although he quickly disavowed Orthodox teaching as well as any form of religion in favor of Atheism, he skillfully relied on the religious nature of the Russian (and other Soviet) people to create an image of himself closely akin to an Orthodox Saint. He did this by having images of himself displayed in many public places, often as statues. He created a false image of his childhood to make himself appear as a Christlike figure, born to lead his people. Operas and movies were made to show him in a heroic atmosphere. (One such creation, Ivan the Terrible by Sergei Eisenstein created a problem as the image was a little to close to Ivan's barbarity for Stalin's comfort.) Additionally, his name was kept constantly in the presence of the Soviet people.