Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at intense battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk. The territories overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Soviet Union. The post-war division of Europe into capitalist and communist halves would lead to increased tensions with the United States-led Western Bloc, known as the Cold War.
Science was also tied to ideology — proof that socialism could compete with, and even surpass, the capitalist West. However, political interference sometimes stifled creativity. Independent thinkers risked punishment if their research contradicted party doctrine, as seen in the suppression of genetic science during Stalin’s era. Cultural life in the USSR was a paradox: rich in creativity but limited by censorship. The government viewed art as a tool for education and propaganda, not as a space for personal freedom.
