During the Cold War, which lasted approximately from the end of World War II until the early 1990s, the leader of the Soviet Union was Joseph Stalin, particularly in its early years until his death in 1953. Stalin's regime was characterized by intense political repression, a focus on industrialization, and the establishment of the Eastern Bloc. Following his death, leaders like Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev continued to embody Soviet power during the Cold War, which was defined by ideological conflict, nuclear arms race, and proxy wars between the Soviet Union and the Western powers, particularly the United States.