1. Mikhail Kalinin
   Vyacheslav Molotov
2. Georgy Zhukov
   Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin played a key role in transforming the Soviet Union from an agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse through collective ownership of production. However, the transition resulted in millions of deaths across Russia.

1. Harry S. Truman
   Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower
   Herbert Hoover

Harry S. Truman served as vice president of the United States for less than three months before the death of his predecessor in 1945. With little knowledge of the atomic bomb, Truman had to quickly make a decision on its use when seeking an end to the war with Japan.

1. Simeon II
   Bogdan Filov
2. Boris III
   Kimon Georgiev

Boris III came to power in Bulgaria after his father, Ferdinand I, abdicated the throne following loses during World War I. Even after being named Tsar, he only held so much power until he outlawed political parties in 1934.

1. Wu Zetian
   Soong Mei-ling
2. Lin Siniang
   Dowager Cixi

With a life spanning three centuries, Soong Mei-ling was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. During WWII, she played a particularly important role inspiring the Chinese people to resist the Japanese invasion.

1. Benito Mussolini
   Pietro Badoglio
2. Italo Gariboldi
   Rodolfo Graziani

Even at an early age, Benito Mussolini was fond of revolutionary forces in Europe, identifying himself with the Socialist cause that was on the rise. His views swung to the extreme, however, as he positioned himself as an editor within newspapers that he could use to incite violence.

1. Dudley Pound
   Clement Attlee
2. Winston Churchill
   Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain is often placed under the microscope when scholars analyze how the German war machine was able to rise without much opposition. His decision to appease the Germans was the main reason he was forced out of office in 1940.

1. Joseph Goebbels
   Herman Goring
2. Adolf Hitler
   Heinrich Himmler

Economic problems following WWI crippled Germany and left the citizens of the country dissatisfied with their ability to change their circumstances. Promising a better future for his people, Adolf Hitler was able to eliminate any political opposition within the country as he seized full power for himself.

1. A.K. Fazlul Huq
   Muhammad Ali Jinnah
2. Aga Khan III
   Khwaja Nazimuddin

Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent much of his later life fighting for the rights of Indian Muslims in a largely Hindu country. Eventually realizing that Muslims and Hindus could not cooperate peacefully, Jinnah pushed for the creation of a new Muslim state, which became Pakistan.

1. Albert I
   Philippe I
2. Leopold III
   Charles II

Hoping to remain neutral, Leopold III refused to enter into a peace agreement with Great Britain and France in the early stages of German aggression. When the German advancement began in 1939, Belgian forces were quickly defeated, but Leopold decided to remain in his country under German rule.

1. Taisho
   Hirohito
2. Akihito
   Meiji

Hirohito became the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad when he went to Western Europe in 1921. He returned to Japan to find that his father had grown ill, leaving Hirohito in charge as regent until his father's death in 1926.

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
   Herbert Hoover
2. Theodore Roosevelt
   Dwight D. Eisenhower

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president in U.S. history to serve more than two terms in office. In total, he was elected to the presidency four times between 1932 and 1944, though he died shortly into his fourth term.

1. Chen Cheng
   Wei Lihuang
2. Xue Yue
   Mao Zedong

After WWII, Mao Zedong became the first leader of a single-party state established under the Communist Party of China. In an effort to transform China's economy to rely on industry, Mao initiated the Great Leap Forward, which led to a massive famine that killed millions.

1. Ugo Cavallero
   Pietro Badoglio
2. Italo Gariboldi
   Angelo Iachino

Pietro Badoglio was central in bringing about an end to Italy's involvement in WWII. Realizing that the Italians were fighting a lost cause, Badoglio signed an armistice agreement with the Allied powers and became the prime minister of Italy in 1943.

1. Hideki Tojo
   Fumimaro Konoe
2. Sadao Araki
   Kotohito Kanin

When the war concluded, Hideki Tojo received much of the blame for Japan's role in WWII, particularly for the bombing of Pearl Harbor and for crimes against prisoners of war. Due to his involvement, Tojo was sentenced to death.

1. Robert Menzies
   Arthur Fadden
2. John Curtin
   Frank Forde

John Curtin took office as the 14th prime minister of Australia in 1941, serving until his death in 1945. As prime minister, Curtin helped organize the Australian military, which he left under the leadership of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur.

1. George I
   William IV
2. Edward VIII
   George VI

George VI was never supposed to inherit the throne of England, as his older brother Edward VIII was the rightful heir. However, Edward gave up the throne to marry a twice-divorced American woman named Wallis Simpson.

1. William Lyon Mackenzie King
   Harry Crerar
2. Guy Simonds
   Andrew McNaughton

A member of the Liberal Party, William Lyon Mackenzie King served over 21 years as the prime minister of Canada, though not as a single tenure. His reign is the longest in Canadian history.

1. Napoleon I
   Umberto I
2. Victor Emmanuel III
   Umberto II

Victor Emmanuel III helped Benito Mussolini gain power in Italy by supporting his march on Rome in 1922, which put the National Fascist Party in control. A few years into WWII, Emmanuel turned on Mussolini, leading to his removal from power.

1. Ermil Gheorghiu
   Nicolae Radescu
2. Constantin Sanatescu
   Ion Antonescu

After the First World War, Ion Antonescu worked his way through the ranks of the Romanian government, eventually becoming the defense minister in 1937 and the prime minister in 1940. As prime minister, he was able to replace King Carol II with his son, who served more of a puppet role in Romania.

1. Sun Fo
   Chiang Kai-shek
2. T.V. Soong
   Lin Sen

A member of the Chinese Nationalist Party, Chiang Kai-shek spent much of his political career battling communists forces throughout China. He eventually lost that battle following WWII and was forced into exile in Taiwan.

1. Phin Choonhavan
   Pridi Banomyong
2. Ananda Mahidol
   Khuang Aphaiwong

Ananda Mahidol remained a neutral figure throughout WWII by taking up residence in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand following the war but was assassinated in his bed under strange circumstances that were never fully revealed.

1. Paul Reynaud
   Maurice Gamelin
2. Maxime Weygand
   Albert Lebrun

Albert Lebrun gained the French presidency by holding a central position within French politics. He gave up that power to the new French State as Germany advanced upon France in 1940, though Lebrun would later claim that he didn't formally give up his power.

1. Elizabeth
   Anne
2. Mary
   Margaret

Elizabeth gained the throne of England following the death of her father in 1952. Under her reign, Britain's overseas empire began to dissolve as countries like South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka gained their independence.

1. Carol I
   Michael I
2. Ferdinand I
   Carol II

As the Soviet Union advanced across Romania, destroying the Nazi front stationed there, King Michael I brought an end to the fighting in his country by ordering a ceasefire. The decision allowed the Allies to advance towards Germany at a much quicker pace.

1. Kuniaki Koiso
   Nobuyuki Abe
2. Hiranuma Kiichiro
   Fumimaro Konoe

Fumimaro Konoe served as the prime minister of Japan when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Following the incident, he was an encouraging voice behind the Japanese invasion of China that led to the Battle of Shanghai.

1. Fuad I
   Farouk I
2. Fuad II
   Abbas I

After reigning for 16 years, King Farouk was forced to give up his throne on July 26, 1952 after a successful military coup. He was replaced by his infant son, Ahmed Fuad, who became the final ruler of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.

1. Philippe Petain
   Rene Bousquet
2. Jean Decoux
   Pierre Laval

Philippe Petain's decision to surrender France to Nazi Germany lost him favor both in his country and among Allied forces. Following WWII, he was tried and convicted for treason, though he was allowed to live his life out in prison rather than being executed.

1. Clement Attlee
   Dudley Pound
2. Winston Churchill
   Alan Brooke

Winston Churchill's greatest quality as a leader might have been the ability to inspire his people with his powerful words. One of his famous quotes from WWII was "If we win, nobody will care. If we lose, there will be nobody to care."

1. Faisal I
   Faisal II
2. Ghazi I
   Abdullah

Faisal II was in power in Iraq when the 14 July Revolution took place in the country that ended with his death and the fall of the Hashemite monarchy. After the revolution, the Iraqi Republic was established.

1. Mikhail Kalinin
   Leonid Govorov
2. Vyacheslav Molotov
   Ivan Konev

Serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov sought peace with Germany when WWII first broke out, eventually agreeing on a non-aggression pact. Germany, of course, did not plan on sticking to the pact and launched an invasion into Russia in 1941.

1. Albert Speer
   Rudolf Hess
2. Hermann Goring
   Joseph Goebbels

Joseph Goebbels played an instrumental role in the growth of the Nazi Party by suppressing opposing voices throughout Germany when the Nazi's seized power in 1933. He accomplished this by taking control of all media outlets across the country, using them to spread Nazi propaganda.

1. Dwight D. Eisenhower
   Omar Bradley
2. Mark W. Clark
   George S. Patton

Following WWII, Dwight D. Eisenhower was pressured into seeking the presidency, as he was easily one of the most popular men in America. He ran for election in 1952, earning a dominant victory over Adlai Stevenson.

1. Geza Lakatos
   Dome Sztojay
2. Laszlo Bardossy
   Miklos Horthy

Following WWI, Hungary was forced to give up large portions of land to surrounding countries. Ceding this land along with internal rebellions from communist forces, ultimately brought Miklos Horthy to power as regent when the Kingdom of Hungary was reestablished in 1920.

1. Hermann Goring
   Karl Donitz
2. Rudolf Hess
   Reinhard Heydrich

Prior to the German invasion of Russia, Rudolf Hess secretly took a German plane across the North Sea to negotiate terms with Great Britain. He hoped his plan would prevent a two-front war for the Germans, but he was instead arrested and imprisoned.

1. Rexford Tugwell
   Virgil R. Miller
2. Chester W. Nimitz
   Joseph Stilwell

Having obtained a graduate degree from Columbia University, Rexford Tugwell was one of the most educated men in the Roosevelt administration. He served as part of a team of advisors for the president known as the "brain trust."

1. Leonid Govorov
   Mikhail Kalinin
2. Ivan Konev
   Georgy Zhukov

The Soviet Union arrested thousands of Polish citizens who they deemed dangerous after they invaded Poland in 1939. In 1940, the Soviets began the Katyn massacre, killing off these prisoners they held. Mikhail Kalinin was one of the men who signed off on the massacre.

1. Yoshijiro Umezu
   Otozo Yamada
2. Mitsumasa Yonai
   Osami Nagano

Mitsumasa Yonai served as prime minister of Japan for less than a year, where he maintained support for an alliance with the United States and Great Britain. However, this put him in opposition with the Imperial Japanese Army, who were pro-German and hoped to join the Axis powers.

1. Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz
   Stanislaw Mikolajczyk
2. Tomasz Arciszewski
   Marian Kukiel

After the German invasion of Poland, Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz left the country to take residence in London. While in London, he formed a government in exile with him as the president, but he never returned to Poland, as control was given to the Soviet Union following the war.

1. Alfred Jodi
   Joachim von Ribbentrop
2. Franz Halder
   Kurt Zeitzler

One of the key figures in starting WWII, the Nuremberg trials were harsh on Joachim von Ribbentrop. He was convicted of not only influencing the start of the war but also of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.

1. Joseph Stilwell
   Holland Smith
2. Chester W. Nimitz
   Douglas MacArthur

Following the end of WWII, Douglas MacArthur was given the title of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. While holding this position, MacArthur oversaw the occupation of Japan as it recovered from the devastation of the war.