"The accords were fig leaves of democratic procedure to hide the nakedness of Stalinist dictatorship"

George F. Kennan’s description of the “accords” as “fig leaves of democratic procedure to hide the nakedness of Stalinist dictatorship” encapsulates a profound skepticism toward the legitimacy and intent behind certain formal agreements or institutions within authoritarian regimes. The imagery of a fig leaf draws from classical art and biblical allusion, where it symbolizes a superficial covering for something shameful or unacceptable, in this case, the undemocratic essence underlying Stalinist rule.

By invoking “democratic procedure,” Kennan references the appearance of democracy: constitutions, elections, parliaments, or legal frameworks that ostensibly reflect public participation and rule of law. In Stalinist contexts, such mechanisms were nominally embraced. There were votes, assemblies, and official statements asserting rights and freedoms. However, Kennan suggests these were mere ornamentation. They served not to empower the people or ensure accountability but to cloak the true nature of the regime. The “nakedness” referenced is the undiluted reality of a dictatorship: concentrated power, state terror, suppression of dissent, and the silencing of genuine pluralism.

The word “accords” might refer to formal agreements, whether between state actors or written guarantees, such as those declared in Soviet constitutions or in international commitments to civil rights. Kennan’s assertion is that these agreements were never meant to be implemented in their true spirit. Instead, their purpose was to present a facade to both domestic and international observers, creating the illusion that Soviet governance adhered to norms of modern, civilized politics. The real function was deception: to legitimize autocratic authority under the veneer of legality and participation.

Kennan’s critique has broader implications about the difference between form and substance in political systems. True democracy requires more than the outward forms, demanding authentic contestation, transparency, and protection for opposition voices. When procedure becomes a fig leaf, it signals a deliberate strategy to obscure misconduct and maintain unaccountable power, betraying the very ideals such procedures appear to uphold.