Joseph Stalin was the notorious leader of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which lasted roughly from the end of World War II in 1947 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Stalin’s policies of centralization, rapid industrialization, and repression led to significant militarization and tensions with the West. He played a crucial role in establishing the Eastern Bloc and was instrumental in actions such as the Berlin Blockade. His leadership style, characterized by totalitarian control and purges, profoundly impacted Soviet society and its relationships with other nations, setting the stage for decades of ideological conflict.