>>783763Not to defend post-WWII Stalin's policies but the situation in the USSR in 1946 was very different compared to the 1962.
Soviet Union was mostly exhausted from the war, which stalled the ongoing 5 year plan and led to the destruction of many industrial complexes and agricultural production. There were also rampant food shortages.
Confrontation with the Western Powers (which initially have monopoly on nuclear weaponry) might be the last thing one may do in this situation.
Like they could also go all in to annex all of Finland in the Winter War or Continuation War, but they had chosen not to. This is of course because that the soldiers of Red Army heroically fought for very long periods, and many were spiritually exhausted. It'd require having soo many casualties and resources for it. +Other Allied powers would probably urge for peace. Anyways, most of the Soviet High Command would just favour taking the peace ( at least for now ) after the mass destruction that the war caused.