Anne Applebaum’s deeply researched and eloquent history examines the creation of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe between 1944 and 1956. Drawing on newly available archives and personal testimonies, the book details how Stalin and his secret police dismantled civil society by targeting political parties, churches, the media, and youth organizations. Applebaum describes the organization of secret police services, the manipulation and suppression of opposition, and the process of ethnic cleansing. She explores how the Red Army’s overwhelming presence enabled the Soviets to install puppet governments, often through falsified elections and brute force. The narrative goes beyond political developments to evoke the lived experience of ordinary people—how some were forced to collaborate, others resisted, and many simply endured the new regime. Applebaum’s work challenges revisionist views by showing that the Sovietization of Eastern Europe was a deliberate ideological project, not merely a reaction to Western policies. Within a decade, the region was ruthlessly Stalinized, with devastating effects on personal freedoms, culture, and civil society.