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Period: to
NATO and Warsaw Pact
The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the new world leaders. During the war, the soviet Union and the nations of the West had cooperated to defeat Nazi Germany. Stalin had two goals in Eastern Europe First, he wanted to spread communism in the area. Second, he wanted to create a buffer zone of friendly governments as a defense against Germany, which had invaded Russia during World War 1 and again in 1941. Stalin soo showed his aggressive intentions outside of Eastern Europe.