[SunkenCiv]

When Barbarossa began, Stalin was reportedly unable to function (this is in the newest bios of S), unwilling to accept that Hitler had broken his word. The fact is, Molotov had been sent immediately to the east and met with Japanese officials; he sent word back to Stalin that he believed the czarist-era treaties would hold, and Stalin ordered every military asset pulled out of the east and thrown against the Germans. The trains loaded up in Siberia, unloaded west of the Urals, and rolled back empty to bring more. Meanwhile whole conscripted "patriotic armies" were sent with weapons but minimal training in unexperienced officers against the German advance.

[dfwgator]

Yes, in the movie “Stalin”, with Robert Duval, they portray Stalin as locking himself away for 10 days alone in the dark, and Molotov basically had to coax Stalin to come out and address the nation.

[nickcarraway]

Yes, Stalin was unable to function. He spent about a week in his Dacha, and when Molotov, and two others came to his dacha, Stalin assumed they were there to arrest him, and that he would be tried and executed as a traitor to the Republic.

An interesting side note is that U.S. communists were still actively involved in opposing U.S. war against Germany. That's how directly controlled by Stalin they were.