Why Did Stalin Destroy The Soviet Union

World War 2 (WW2) destroyed the Soviet Union. Apart from the loss of 25 million Russians, whole cities had been reduced to rubble, villages obliterated, and machinery and livestock destroyed (Aldred and Waller). Under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union came out of WW2 with the goals of safeguarding and rebuilding the nation, expanding the communist sphere of influence and thereby, creating an indestructible Soviet Empire. In the twentieth century, Russia suffered three attacks from the West and these aims seek to prevent similar loss and ensure that countries, such as Germany and Poland, will never pose a future threat to the Soviet Union again. As Stalin worked towards achieving these objectives for the Soviet Union,
Stalin expressed displeasure about these policies as his aim was to only have economic reconstruction for the USSR and mainly at Germany's expense by obtaining materials and equipment as reparations to weaken their country, economically and politically, indefinitely (Modern World History). Moreover, he felt that the human sacrifices made by the Soviet Union during WW2 entitled them to being treated as a “great power” like America and Great Britain; since these countries had empires, it was reasonable to create the Soviet Empire so that the Soviet Union could enjoy political and economic benefits as well (dailyhistory.org). The “Iron Curtain” will be drawn and within the empire, satellite states will exist solely for the exploitation of the Soviet Union in terms of resource extraction and access to their markets (Applebaum). Moreover, as a devoted communist, having an empire of this scale would aid Stalin’s personal goal of spreading communism globally to secure his relevance in world affairs