Soviet control was built institution by institution, not overnight

Applebaum's central argument is that Communist consolidation of power across Eastern Europe after 1945 wasn't a single dramatic coup but a patient, methodical process, targeting one category of independent institution at a time: first radio broadcasting, then youth groups, then churches, then schools and cultural organizations. Each sector was captured using slightly different tactics tailored to its particular vulnerabilities.

This sequencing mattered strategically: by isolating and neutralizing independent institutions one at a time rather than attacking all of civil society simultaneously, authorities avoided provoking the kind of unified resistance that a sudden, comprehensive crackdown might have triggered. Each individual capture could be minimized or justified, while the cumulative effect, only visible in hindsight, was near-total control.

Applebaum treats this incrementalism as the book's central mechanism, distinguishing Soviet-imposed totalitarianism from a simple military occupation. Total control was assembled gradually from many small, individually justifiable captures, not delivered in one visible blow.