Final answer:
The man described in the question is Joseph Stalin, who was the authoritarian leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. His rule was marked by aggressive policies aimed at industrialization, collectivization of agriculture, and spreading communism globally. Stalin's domestic and foreign policies set the stage for the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
The person described in the question is Joseph Stalin. Stalin, whose actual name is Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, grew up in poverty in the Russian Empire's state of Georgia and was a longtime follower of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democrats. He adopted the name Stalin, meaning 'man of steel', and steadily rose through the ranks of the Communist Party, eventually becoming its general secretary in 1922. Once in power, Stalin embarked on a series of Five-Year Plans designed to transform the Soviet Union's largely agrarian economy into a centralized, industrial one.
Following the death of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union, Stalin solidified his authority, adopting a totalitarian rule marked by the Great Purge, mass repressions, implemented state terror, and a strict centralized economy. His leadership, which extended from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953, was also characterized by the establishment of a cult of personality, rapid industrialization, and the collectivization of agriculture, all aimed at making the Soviet Union a global superpower.
Stalin's international politics and characteristics were underpinned by a unique blend of Russian imperialism and Marxism-Leninism, resulting in an aggressive foreign policy and the goal of spreading communism globally, particularly across Europe, setting the stage for the geopolitical opposition between the Soviet Union and the United States commonly referred to as the Cold War.
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