It's all over except the shouting- A Cold War TL

[General_Finley]

--

The Soviet-Yugoslavian War and the failure of the Soviet Union to win the conflict resulted in a massive political upheaval within the USSR not seen since the Great Purges of the 30s. Stalin blamed the fiasco of the war largely on Lavrentiy Beria, Jewish nationalists, Western Imperialists, and traitorous Titoists. Stalin would orchestrate a massive purge in late 1949 that would see the Beria-Malenkov Axis destroyed, with Nikolai Bulganin, Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria receiving the most public condemnation by Stalin. Though Mikhail Suslov had once been considered Stalin’s protégé, Suslov had become a member of a commission created by Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria, and Lazar Kaganovich which though it was created to investigate Georgy Popov was interpreted as a conspiratorial plot against Stalin, because of this Suslov too found himself on trial as a western spy and executed for his alleged crimes. Along with these “traitorous western spies” the last remaining Old Bolsheviks were purged by Stalin including Anastas Mikoyan, Lazar Kaganovich, Vyacheslav Molotov. Unlike the show trials of the “western spies” the Old Bolsheviks silently disappeared from the scene almost as if they had been erased. Viktor Abakumov, head of the MGB, was arrested and shot for his inaction in making Stalin aware of the “western spies” that had subverted the Soviet people. Anti-Titoist trials were held all across Eastern Europe with suspected Titoists executed for being fascist, Neo-Trotskyite, Jewish Nationalists. Among the high profile Soviet Jews prosecuted and executed as Jewish Nationalists were Peretz Markish, David Hofstein, Itzik Fefer, Leib Kvitko, David Bergelson, Solomon Lozovsky, Boris Shimeliovich, Benjamin Zuskin, Joseph Yuzefovich, Leon Talmy, Ilya Vatenberg, Chaika Vatenburg-Ostrovskaya, Emilia Teumin, Solomon Bregman, and Lina Stern. Jews across the Soviet Union suffered greatly as the new Great Purge. While higher profile Jews were executed thousand if not millions of Soviet Jews would find themselves forcible “deported” to Birobidzhan; "Pure blooded" Jews were deported first, followed by "half breeds" (polukrovki). It was clear that this was not the Jewish Autonomous Zone that it had originally been meant to be, but rather a frosty hell where the Soviet Union’s Jewish population could neatly be “contained” in the event that Stalin decided to purge the Soviet Union of its “Jewish Problem”. Though Stalin would never follow up on this idea of committing genocide against the Jewish population, hundreds if not thousands of Jews would die on the journey to Birobidzhan and die in the unfit conditions in the Jewish Autonomous Zone.


Lavrenty Beria, the face of the “Western Spies”


Peretz Markish, Yiddish poet, co-founder the School of Writers, a Yiddish literary school in Soviet Russia


Aleksei Kuznetsov, one of the few who benefited from the purge

There was still opportunity for some in the face of so much death; Aleksei Kuznetsov and Nikolai Voznesensky would be amongst the Soviet opportunists that would see themselves rise in political power following the liquidation of many of their rivals like Malenkov and Beria. Kuznetsov would rise to the position of Chairman of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union after the death of Malenkov, securing a position of strength in the post-purge Soviet Union. Voznesensky would become Chairman of the State Planning Committee. The colossal failure of the Soviets in the Soviet-Yugoslav War led to Stalin bringing Georgy Zhukov back from the political wilderness to rebuild the Red Army into a fighting machine that would never suffer such a defeat again. Zhukov would be made Minister of the Armed Forces, replacing the executed Nikolai Bulganin. For most, like Nikita Khrushchev, they weren’t trying to via for a higher position in Stalin’s government; they were merely trying to survive it.



The Eighth Sister, the Joseph Stalin Patriotic Palace of Culture and Science in Moscow

Stalin looked to direct the Soviet people’s attention from the defeat of the Yugoslavian War back to the victory of the Second World War. Stalin would rush head first back into his massive architectural projects with the Volga-Don Canal and the Joseph Stalin Patriotic Palace of Culture and Science. The new wave of Stalinist architecture would not only see the sky lines of Moscow rise, it would see the construction of similar dominating sky scrapers across the Soviet Union. Though initially these Stalinist buildings were almost always either ministry headquarters, hotels, or universities in 1954 Stalin would announce the construction of apartment complexes for the masses in Stalingrad, Leningrad, Vladivostok, and Moscow. Though none of these buildings would be finished by the time of Stalin’s death in 1955, they would provide government subsidized low income housing. Aleksei Kuznetsov would continue the building of Stalinist architectural projects after his ascent to power as Stalin’s “heir”.



A Soviet tank in Berlin


Leader of the Free German Republic of East Berlin, Johannes Hamel

In 1953 the Soviets would once again alienate Western European Communist with the brutal crushing of the East German Uprising. There were a number of underlying problems in East Germany that would lead to the Uprising and the brutal repression by the Soviets. First amongst these was the dramatic increase of in the first half-year of 1953, already high since the establishment of the GDR, constituted a serious economic and social problem. Second, the high number of political prisoners in the GDR; the expulsion of high school students who belonged to church groups; third, the decision by the Central Committee to raise the work norms which resulted in higher taxes, higher prices, and an increase of the work quotas by 10%. The policies would be a disaster and their enacting lit a powder keg that resulted in the East German Uprising. On 16 June, 300 East Berlin construction workers went on strike after their superiors announced a pay cut if they did not meet the work quota outlined by the . Their numbers grew quickly and a general strike and protests were called for the next day. The West Berlin-based Radio in the American Sector reported the Berlin events and which only fanned the flames of rebellion throughout Eastern Germany. News of events in East Berlin spread quickly throughout the GDR, and as the crowds of protesters grew in size and strength in East Berlin so too did the confidence of the German people. The protesters began to demand the release of political prisoners and free and fair elections. It had only been a year since Stalin had declared that the “Fascist uprisings” in Romania had been quelled and the Soviet Union was still in the midst of the great Post-War Purge that gutted much of the Soviet spy network, because of these issues the Soviet Union was slower to react to the German uprising and by the evening of the 17th most if not all of East Berlin was in the hands of the German people. With the flight of the East German government and the Fall of East Berlin revolutionary fervor spread throughout the GDR. It’s quite sad to think that had the rebellion not experienced such success in East Berlin the rest of East Germany might have been spared. A new government was proclaimed and Christian leader Johannes Hamel was quickly (and not quite democratically) made the provisional head of state for the Free German Republic of East Berlin. Hamel looked to the West for aid in the struggle against the USSR and found only halfhearted help. Though Secretary of State Dulles and President Dewey supported the Roll-Back policy over the policy of containment, moving American troops across the border into East Germany would mean only one thing … War with the Soviet Union. Yes, Stalin was busy purging the USSR and Yugoslavia had managed to fend off an attack by the USSR, but now Stalin was nuclear armed and the Red Army was back under the command of Georgy Zhukov. In Great Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill while a crusader against communism was not entirely on board with the idea of unifying Germany so quickly after the Second World War especially if it meant starting a Third World War. The American military made no official moves to aid the revolutionary East Germans, but covertly began supplying the East Germans with weapons. In the early morning of June 18th Soviet tanks and troops moved to retake East Berlin in a brutal campaign. Peaceful protests by the German people were met by anti-personnel rounds fired at point blank range from T- 34’s. The people of Berlin would not give up their city without a fight and pitched combat raged in many blocks of the Soviet sector. By late afternoon it was all too apparent that Soviets could not be fought off without aircraft and tanks and many Germans fled across to West Berlin or into the German countryside to continue guerrilla warfare. Amongst the Germans to flee to the West was Johannes Hamel who wept for the German people. Across Germany the uprisings were put down with horrendous brutality. Hundreds if not thousands of Germans would flee to the West and thousands more were slaughtered by the Red Army. German guerrillas would continue to fight on for months, but the brutal retaliation against the German civilian population by the Soviets led to most giving up and either trying to flee to the West or committing suicide. Walter Ulbricht along with other East German communists who fled the capital were purged by Stalin for their incompetence and for fleeing. The brutal actions by the Soviet Union in Germany led to the Communist parties in Western Europe experiencing more desertion, though Stalin’s claims of suppressing a “Fascist Revolt” were more accepted by French Communists and less damage was done than during the Yugoslav War and the Romanian Uprising.

--

[Strategos' Risk]

As horrific as this is, it's very fascinating. You have a keen grasp of important figures of the time, and this is a very non-cliche composition of an alternate Soviet government. Everyone from Molotov to Suslov were purged? That's just crazy. I'm surprised you found people to take over the reins after Stalin. Also, glad to see Zhukov back in play.

[General_Finley]

Originally Posted by Strategos' Risk

As horrific as this is, it's very fascinating. You have a keen grasp of important figures of the time, and this is a very non-cliche composition of an alternate Soviet government. Everyone from Molotov to Suslov were purged? That's just crazy. I'm surprised you found people to take over the reins after Stalin. Also, glad to see Zhukov back in play.

Thank you.

As for the Soviet government I looked for figures that had been purged by the OTL Beria-Malenkov Axis between late 1948 and 1950 which would greatly benefit from the liquidation of the B-M Axis and the Old Bolsheviks. Suslov, while a close follower of Stalin and certainly not a member of the Beria-Malenkov Axis, happened to be a member of the wrong commission at the wrong time. OTL Stalin had planned to purge the last of the Old Bolsheviks before he died, so with a new great purge against the Beria-Malenkov Axis the Old Bolsheviks would quietly disappear with the dozens of other political figures who were executed. It also gave me an excuse to make sure that Molotov wouldn't end up leading the USSR as is so often the cliche, but at the same time make it so that Khrushchev doesn't have the rise to power he had IOTL. I ended up stumbling on Aleksei Kuznetsov, who is Stalin's ITTL successor, while researching the Leningrad Affair (which ITTL doesn't happen because it was largely pushed by the Beria-Malenkov Axis). Along with Kuznetsov, men like Alexei Kosygin, Nikolai Voznesensky, and Mikhail Rodionov have survived the purge and the rule of Stalin to be amongst the leading figures in the Post-Stalin USSR. I always liked Zhukov so after the Soviet-Yugoslav War and the fall of Nikolai Bulganin it seemed to make sense to bring him back.

[Strategos' Risk]

Did Kliment Voroshilov get purged as well? I suppose in either case he'd be marginalized as in OTL.

Edit:

I'm quite interested in the effects of a Dewey administration. A Marshall Plan for Asia sounds very intriguing and I hope it could have the same sort of salutary effects that the Marshall Plan had for Europe. I'm also curious if Dewey will pursue a progressive racial policy like he did as governor of NY. Wikipedia mentions he agreed with Truman on many foreign policy actions (the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, recognition of Israel, and the Berlin airlift) and that he was not a Red-baiter. Not sure how significant any of that is, though I'm wondering if his presidency will mean that pseudo-progressive Republicans would not disappear from the GOP- he along with Eisenhower are quite different from isolationist Taft and small government Goldwater who followed. Finally, I hope SEATO will have real teeth, comparable to NATO.

Some research I did on the matter for the late AH Mk II Chain project.

[historybuff]

Very interesting.
I like people like Kosygin and Zhukov.

[General_Finley]

Originally Posted by Strategos' Risk

Did Kliment Voroshilov get purged as well? I suppose in either case he'd be marginalized as in OTL.

Edit:

I'm quite interested in the effects of a Dewey administration. A Marshall Plan for Asia sounds very intriguing and I hope it could have the same sort of salutary effects that the Marshall Plan had for Europe. I'm also curious if Dewey will pursue a progressive racial policy like he did as governor of NY. Wikipedia mentions he agreed with Truman on many foreign policy actions (the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, recognition of Israel, and the Berlin airlift) and that he was not a Red-baiter. Not sure how significant any of that is, though I'm wondering if his presidency will mean that pseudo-progressive Republicans would not disappear from the GOP- he along with Eisenhower are quite different from isolationist Taft and small government Goldwater who followed. Finally, I hope SEATO will have real teeth, comparable to NATO.

Some research I did on the matter for the late AH Mk II Chain project.

Kliment Voroshilov survived the purge, but only because he lead the Army that invaded through from Hungary and captured Belgrade which allowed the USSR to "liberate" part of Yugoslavia.

I'll go more in depth on the effects of the Asian Recovery Act in the net update. It's not going to mean that South China will suddenly have a strong economy, liberal-democratic elections, or even be in better shape than the PRC, but it will certainly have drastic effects on Asia.

Yah, the books that I purchased about Dewey describe him as a Progressive Republican. With Dewey in charge and with half of China remaining "free" we don't see the rise of McCarthyism that we did ITTL and I plan on having the Republican Party be a lot more like the Rockefeller Republicans of OTL.

SEATO will be a lot more like its European counterpart ITTL.

Originally Posted by historybuff

Very interesting.
I like people like Kosygin and Zhukov.

thank's I'm glad you're enjoying the TL.

[Strategos' Risk]

Originally Posted by General_Finley

I'll go more in depth on the effects of the Asian Recovery Act in the net update. It's not going to mean that South China will suddenly have a strong economy, liberal-democratic elections, or even be in better shape than the PRC, but it will certainly have drastic effects on Asia.

Cool, glad to hear it. Sometimes people on this forum are too optimistic about KMT China holding on- it would definitely be a place of corruption, uneven levels of development, and repression- much like Taiwan was until recent decades, actually.

[lukedalton]

Good update overall and great word both for real different leadearship that the URSS get (even if i don't see a destalinization after the 'dear leader' departure) and for getting a real different cold war from the beginning.
In the end, Uncle Joe has given to the USA and allies another PR weapon, yes they are Germans and a lot of hard feeling remains but is still a brutal suppression of an 'initial' pacific protest...i image that in France and Italy the communist star will be soon surpassed by the social-democratic one and in general we will probably get something akin to eurocommunism some decades earlier.
Second, how east germany is in trouble? I think that at the border there will be an humanitarian crisis due to the mass of refugee who will try to escape, unless the soviet will try immediately to close everyborder, second the mass of people who will want to escape will only grow up after that and the GDR will be soon in economic deep water without much of her technical workforce.

[DanMcCollum]

Lets hope that Dewey has a better time of it in your TL than he does in mine! That being said; you have a far greater grasp on Soviet history, and personalities, than I do. I may have to mine your TL for some ideas when it comes to the USSR

Keep up the great work!!

[Clandango]

Do I sense a fascist revival coming on?

[General_Finley]

Originally Posted by lukedalton

Good update overall and great word both for real different leadearship that the URSS get (even if i don't see a destalinization after the 'dear leader' departure) and for getting a real different cold war from the beginning.
In the end, Uncle Joe has given to the USA and allies another PR weapon, yes they are Germans and a lot of hard feeling remains but is still a brutal suppression of an 'initial' pacific protest...i image that in France and Italy the communist star will be soon surpassed by the social-democratic one and in general we will probably get something akin to eurocommunism some decades earlier.
Second, how east germany is in trouble? I think that at the border there will be an humanitarian crisis due to the mass of refugee who will try to escape, unless the soviet will try immediately to close everyborder, second the mass of people who will want to escape will only grow up after that and the GDR will be soon in economic deep water without much of her technical workforce.

DeStalinization as it occured won't happen at it did ITTL, but the slightly insane economic policies of Stalin won't continue unchecked with men like
Kosygin and Voznesensky in positions of power after the death of Stalin.

Closer relations with Yugoslavia and the fracturing of the Communist parties strongly linked to the USSR will see Eurocommunism arise earlier than OTL, I kind of hinted at that in the previous update describing the massive losses the French Communist Party had to the more centralist SFIO.

I plan on going more in depth about the flight of the German people from East Germany and the resulting demographic crisis when I do my update on Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and the rest of Africa. The GDR will become far more economically dependent on foreign workers after this.

Originally Posted by DanMcCollum

Lets hope that Dewey has a better time of it in your TL than he does in mine! That being said; you have a far greater grasp on Soviet history, and personalities, than I do. I may have to mine your TL for some ideas when it comes to the USSR

Keep up the great work!!

Thank you,
I'm not sure my TL will help much as most of the political leaders of ITTL USSR died in 1950 in OTL, but if you find something helpful than I'm glad my TL could help.

Originally Posted by Clandango

Do I sense a fascist revival coming on?

Not likely, authoritarianism in a bunch of places and some would argue that the RoC is fascist, but no reemergence of fascism.

[Clandango]

Yes, the Chinese... Might we see a compromise between the Chinese and French in which the former gets Tonkin either as a protectorate or acquisition while Cochinchina goes to French sponsored Cambodia? Just a thought.

[General_Finley]

Originally Posted by Clandango

Yes, the Chinese... Might we see a compromise between the Chinese and French in which the former gets Tonkin either as a protectorate or acquisition while Cochinchina goes to French sponsored Cambodia? Just a thought.

South China is still kind of a mess with the Yunnan clique, the New Guangxi clique, corruption, and communist rebels making a mess of things. The update I'm currently working on will cover Asia during the early and mid 1950's which should answer your questions.

[Clandango]

Marvelous, though may I ask if Cantonese is going to be the areas main dialect?

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

How on earth can dewey fly the anticommunist banner, when it is communists he wants to support? And dont tell me that Tito wasnt a communist, or that his regime wasnt. Could someone claim he wasnt a 'real communist'? Sure, they could try.

Honestly, i think dewey is far likelier to condemn truman for even thinking about supporting any flavour of communism.

Unlike much of europe, the us tended not to make subtle distinctions between 'good' and 'bad' communists. Heck, even today sizable numbers of americans think obama is a socialist!

This feels asb, especially as written.

[Nofix]

Originally Posted by Dathi THorfinnsson

How on earth can dewey fly the anticommunist banner, when it is communists he wants to support? And dont tell me that Tito wasnt a communist, or that his regime wasnt. Could someone claim he wasnt a 'real communist'? Sure, they could try.

Honestly, i think dewey is far likelier to condemn truman for even thinking about supporting any flavour of communism.

Unlike much of europe, the us tended not to make subtle distinctions between 'good' and 'bad' communists. Heck, even today sizable numbers of americans think obama is a socialist!

This feels asb, especially as written.

Anyone against the Soviet Union was a possible ally, look at Nixon opening up to China in the 70's, after the Sino-Soviet Split.

[General_Finley]

Originally Posted by Clandango

Marvelous, though may I ask if Cantonese is going to be the areas main dialect?

Cantonese will be the main dialects spoken throughout the RoC though Hokkien and Mandarin are also spoken widely.

Originally Posted by Dathi THorfinnsson

How on earth can dewey fly the anticommunist banner, when it is communists he wants to support? And dont tell me that Tito wasnt a communist, or that his regime wasnt. Could someone claim he wasnt a 'real communist'? Sure, they could try.

Honestly, i think dewey is far likelier to condemn truman for even thinking about supporting any flavour of communism.

Unlike much of europe, the us tended not to make subtle distinctions between 'good' and 'bad' communists. Heck, even today sizable numbers of americans think obama is a socialist!

This feels asb, especially as written.

Dewey was flying the anticommunist banner in as much as he was condemning the Truman for letting the USSR get into a position where it could try and invade an independent nation, even a communist one. The Western World was already in shock over the coup in Czechoslovakia and the addition of the Soviet Invasion of Yugoslavia made it look very much like Truman had dropped the ball ITTL. Dewey while waving the banner of Anticommunism to ensure the defeat of Truman wasn’t an arch anti-communist and would be pragmatic enough to see that continuing to aid Yugoslavia against the Soviet Union would be much more beneficial than letting it fall to the USSR.

---

Edit: Thanks everyone for the 2,000 views

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Originally Posted by Nofix

Anyone against the Soviet Union was a possible ally, look at Nixon opening up to China in the 70's, after the Sino-Soviet Split.

In the 70s, long after the sinosoviet split.

[General_Finley]

Originally Posted by Dathi THorfinnsson

In the 70s, long after the sinosoviet split.

It was motivated by Soviet military aggression, just as is the case with the ITTL Yugoslav-American rapprochement. Dewey would have to have suddenly come down with a case of the stupid virus that characterized the political leaders in the "Draka" series to not be pragmatic enough to see that aiding Yugoslavia means keeping the USSR from gaining a clear path to the Mediterranean and adds another ally against the USSR. Like I said before, Dewey wasn't a Taftian Republican who wanted to return to isolationist policies and or a practitioner of McCarthyism; he very pragmatically said "you can't shoot an idea with a gun" when arguing against the outlawing of the Communist Party of America and would see that aiding Yugoslavia against the USSR is in the United States' best interests.

[Strategos' Risk]

Besides, he can always bolster his anticommunist credentials by being bullish on Asia, which he does both ITTL and according to my research in the link from my last post, he might have done in OTL.

To some nations, the results brought dismay. It had been Tom Dewey, after all, who had insisted on more help to the sagging government of China. "Next January," Chinese had told themselves, "will be the turning point." Last week, as Nanking read the bitter bulletins from Manchuria and the north (see FOREIGN NEWS), it received a depressing dispatch from Washington: "There is little reason to believe that President Truman's astonishing victory will affect greatly the Democratic administration's existing China policy."

And lol

The Japanese were confused. Lamented one Japanese: "We have just picked a new Prime Minister and a cabinet on the basis of a Dewey election . . ."

Truman, said Moscow, was not the biggest warmonger after all. Who had advanced "a frankly reactionary and aggressive program?" Said Foreign Minister Molotov last week: Tom Dewey. And what did the U.S. elections mean? Said Molotov: "A majority of the Americans rejected this program." And what of the surprisingly small number of Americans who had voted for Henry Wallace? Said Moscow: "The flower of the nation. Each ... is worth more in moral authority . . . than 100 voting robots."