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Stalin believed that the Soviet Union's sacrifices meant that he and his nation were entitled to be treated like a great power and that they could create an Empire for their own strategic and economic benefit. The Soviet leader was eager to expand his territory in an effort to create a buffer around the USSR, in a bid to protect it from any invasion, possibly from the western powers. Stalin as a committed communist was also eager to expand communism around the world and to promote a global revolution, that would sweep away the capitalist system. Stalin did achieve many of his goals.<ref> Applebaum, p. 143</ref>. By the time of his death, he ruled or influenced almost one-fifth of the world's landmass and the USSR was acknowledged as only one of two Superpowers in the world. However, his ambitions meant that he caused the Cold War, that for four decades, threatened to turn into a nuclear conflict between the Communist bloc and the democratic western powers.