Strogov's interrogation scenes take place in 1951. He is informed almost immediately upon his arrival that his boss, Viktor Abakumov (the real life head of SMERSH), has been arrested. 1951 was the start of or getting close to the Doctor's Plot, and Abakumov, a subordinate to NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria, was arrested at that time.
More information can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Abakumov
By the way, the MoT protagonist IS Strogov, from what I hear, but his face is different...