The last years of the Stalin regime were devoted to recovering from the destruction of World War II. Rebuilding industry was the top priority, and by 1950 the nation's industrial output had exceeded that of 1940. The collectivization process continued to evolve, mostly as a result of mechanization and the application of scientific farming techniques. And the Great Purge was repeated, albeit in a smaller way, when Stalin sought to eliminate from the Communist Party anyone who had been "tainted" by association with the West during the war.

Stalin also oversaw the expansion of Soviet power into eastern Europe, and the beginning of the Cold War. The creation of the "Iron Curtain" that cut off Soviet satellite nations from the West was actually a defensive measure; the next time the West wanted to invade Russia, it would have to begin its campaign about 400 miles further to the west. Western...