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Stalin is often portrayed as a blood-thirsty and power mad dictator. This is true, but he was also a committed communist and was a firm believer in the tenets of Marxism-Leninism. This Communist doctrine foresaw a global revolution in which all the nations of the world would become communists and property and wealth would be distributed equally. The ultimate aim of Communism was to reform society and transform humanity by the common sharing of goods, which would end exploitation and conflict. Stalin had previously favored developing communism in the Soviet Union, in opposition to the call of Trotsky, to export communist revolution around the world. By 1944-1945, Stalin was well aware that the Red Army and its victories allowed an unprecedented opportunity to expand Communism.<ref>Conquest, p. 234</ref> This led him to adopt the policy of supporting Communist parties in eastern Europe.
In the years after the Soviet liberation of countries, such as Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary, the Soviet Supreme leader, staged coups that deposed often democratically elected governments, often pro-western and replaced them with Communist administrations.<ref> Applebaum, Anne. <i>Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944–1956 </i> (Doubleday, London 2012), p. 117</ref> Stalin went to great lengths that the new governments were sympathetic to the particular brand of Communism espoused by him. He made sure that the Communist governments carried out his wishes and conformed to his repressive form of Communism. The desire to expand communism was one of the key drivers of Soviet policy in the aftermath of the end of the war.<ref>Boobyear, p. 277</ref> However, this alarmed the west, especially Washington and this persuaded them to see Moscow as its chief enemy.
==Stalin as Empire Builder==
