Stalin during the war
The Second World War is easily the most brutal and massive war the world has ever seen. The war on the Eastern Front was won by the Allies thanks largely to the Soviets, who paid the price for their victory with well over 20 million lives. The massive Soviet war machine did not just enter the war and continually push until they met the American forces on a river Germany. The Nazi forces were virtually knocking on the door of the Kremlin before the tides of the war changed.
During the time the Soviets were on the defensive, Petrograd was very nearly run over. The city itself was blockaded by the Germans, who tried to starve the city into submission. With the war going so poorly, Russian morale sunk. The fact that Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, for once told the truth rather than assure everyone that the valient Soviet Soldiers were fighting back the Nazis didn't help.
The most interesting fact about this time is that Stalin very near suffered a complete mental breakdown. He was scared out of his mind that he was about to lose his nation at the hands of the Germans. What he was most scared of was the Russian people and the Party losing their faith in him. He shut himself up in his room and stared blankly out of the window waiting to be arrested by the other members of the central committee and the Presidium. When other members came to visit him and offer their support, he immediately assumed they were there to arrest him. But the arrest never came.
When the tide of the war finally changed, Stalin finally regained his composure and his strong persona. When the Nazis were finally pushed back (due largely to the large Soviet army and very largely due to luck), Stalin was able to assure his nation's victory from the invaders. After the war was won, Stalin soared to unheard of levels of popularity. He was more popular than even Lenin at the time. The party made it a special point to campaign very hard (despite knowing he was obviously winning) the election to the Premiership yet again. Stalin held power until his death in 1953.
It was not until after his death that the flaws of his ways were surfaced. It was Kruschev's shocking speech to the presidium that finally brought out some of the darker aspects of Stalinism. Nonetheless, Stalin was, and remains one of the most fierce and noteworthy personalities of the 20th century.