Who was the dictator of the Soviet Union aiming to spread Communism in Europe?

Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union who played a significant role in spreading Communism across Europe, particularly after World War II. His leadership was marked by the establishment of a totalitarian regime and an aggressive foreign policy aimed at extending Soviet influence into Eastern Europe. Under Stalin, the USSR sought to create a buffer of Communist states along its western border, resulting in the establishment of several satellite states that adopted Communist governments.

Stalin's approach included both military and political strategies to support Communist movements in various countries, which directly contributed to the onset of the Cold War. His policies resulted in a division of Europe, characterized by the Iron Curtain, which symbolized the ideological conflict between the capitalist West and the Communist East.

In contrast, Leon Trotsky, while a key figure in the Russian Revolution and a prominent Marxist theorist, was eventually ousted from power by Stalin and did not lead the Soviet Union in the same capacity. Vladimir Lenin was the leader who initiated the Bolshevik Revolution and established the first socialist government in Russia but died before Stalin’s rise to power. Nikita Khrushchev succeeded Stalin and had a different approach to foreign policy, focusing on de-Stalinization and a peaceful coexistence strategy with the West