The famous leader of the Soviet Union during World War II was Joseph Stalin. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and played a pivotal role in the global conflict as the leader of the USSR from the late 1920s until his death in 1953. Stalin's policies focused on rapid industrialization and agricultural collectivization, but his leadership was also marked by widespread purges and political repression. During World War II, he initially signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany but later led the Soviet forces against the Axis powers after the invasion of the USSR in 1941, which turned the tide of the war in Europe.