The first episode covers the rise of Josef Stalin, who gained power despite cautionary statements by Lenin before he died. It discusses the violence Stalin dealt to his own people, including the downtrodden peasants, political foes, officers of the Red Army, and anyone else he considered to be an enemy. Henry Kissinger provides narration for the series.

As the series continues, Stalin is wielding his tyrannical power by ruthlessly eliminating the leaders of his Red Army. In Germany, Hitler is planning to enlarge his territory. Henry Kissinger appears as the host for these programs, which make use of accounts from survivors, photographs not seen outside of Russia, and material once kept secret. Stalin makes a decision to align his forces with those of Hitler, resulting in the swift defeat of Poland.

Under Stalin's regime, many Russians have been killed, from common peasants to high-ranking officers in the Soviet Army. When Hitler's troops march into Russia in a blitzkrieg attack, the surprised Russians fall back. Despite Stalin's decree that no cities surrender, Kiev, Minsk, and Smolensk give in. Stalin denounces the captured Russians as traitors, and sends their wives to labor camps. It follows the progress of the Germans as they advance to the gates of Moscow.

Hitler's forces arrive at Moscow without taking into account the severity of Russian winters. It is October, and the first snows have begun to fall. The inhabitants of Leningrad were under siege, and many were to die from lack of food. The Red Army mounts a counteroffensive, as both Hitler and Stalin display brutality toward their own armies. Stalin orders all deserters shot, in order to keep enough troops at the front to protect Moscow. Seldom-seen footage of events enhances the narrative in this series of programs.

In the Nazi-captured regions of Russia, the life of villagers went from bad to worse. In this fifth episode of the series, first shown on PBS, the initial optimism of peasants quickly dissipated when Hitler's forces began to display their utter disdain of Soviet citizens. It reveals the role of the Partisan resistance movement, whose first efforts were not sanctioned by Stalin. As their numbers grew, Stalin gave them support, and increased their power, ordering them to kill anyone suspected of disloyalty.