MarshalBraginsky
Banned
Now I might receive some flak over this just because The Red Baron's Mitteleuropa is still active and Thunder over the Danube still needs an update, but as of now I am kinda stuck on the Red Baron TL with regards to the Second World War analogue, so updates for that will be scaled down in order to do this new TL, which will be about a different Cold War that may either be better or worse.
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Turn One: What Omen Will This Bring Us All?
Excerpts from the Memoirs of Anastas Mikoyan:
Chapter Two: The Sign of Troubles
October of 1945 was yet like many months that had gone by, dull and boring. Sure, the Great Patriotic War had finally ended and the great Comrade Stalin was at the top of the world with his huge contribution to the defeat of the German fascists. Where was I during the war? I was sitting at the second most important position in the Soviet Union as Deputy Premier and in charge of logistics for the Red Army. Basically, I organized the arrangements of supplies that various Red Army officers needed to get the job done. Comrade Stalin took a shine on me for my great contributions to the point where I was decorated with the medal of “Hero of Socialist Labor” and I felt really relieved at how he praised me for my efforts. Yet deep inside, I harbored a secret grudge against the very same man who was responsible for hacking off Nakhchivan to the Azeris, as well as condemning the fate of my people that lived in the Nagorno-Karabagh region, also a part of the Azerbaijani SSR. Don’t get me wrong; I am a good communist, but it’s just that during the early days of the Bolshevik Revolution our leadership was trying to court the very same people responsible for the genocide that was unleashed upon us. Little did I know, October of 1945 was not going to be the same month as any other ever again.
I just minded my business in that fateful October, going about with the casual routines of working inside the Kremlin. I was on my way to see comrade Stalin for some problems that I had with the question on German reparations and how we’ll carry them out when Lavrenti Beria ran up to me as if he was deathly afraid of something. Soon enough, two NKVD guardsmen also came up to me but they didn’t look stern as if they were going to haul me off to the gulag on a series of false charges. Whatever it is, I could tell that this was not going to end well.
“Comrade Mikoyan? We need your help. Comrade Stalin’s having a heart attack,” Beria told me.
“Right, I’ll come with you.” I let Beria take the lead to Stalin’s office where he worked, and sure enough, his eyes were wide as he clutched at his chest. “Is he having a heart attack?”
“Da, and it’s not like the first time he’s had a health problem. He had that stroke on Victory Day, but I’m not sure if this is just mild or not.” He turned to the NKVD guards. “Check his pulse!”
“Yes, Comrade Beria.” One of the guards tried to calm Stalin down, but at the last moment he gasped and choked on just thin air. After that horrific scene, it was then that the great dictator had finally kicked the bucket…..for good.
Later that evening I gathered all the Party’s leadership inside the Kremlin to formally hear the news of Stalin’s untimely demise. Comrade Beria had his inner circle on one end while comrades Molotov, Malenkov and Zhdanov (who would also die within a couple months after Stalin’s death) were on the other side. I stood between the two groups and began to glance around the room. Sure enough, there was Beria who looked nervous and kept on glancing at the men beside him before looking at the faces of the comrades across from him. Now I don’t know if it’s just plain coincidence, but I had some theories on why Beria felt nervous, now that he had no boss from whom he can suck up to. Was it the fact that he felt worried at who would he have to suck up to next? Or was it the fact that he laid low while Stalin was still alive and only until after his death does he have to make a power play and assume the leadership?
It was also rather surprising that I had a survival instinct of a cockroach, or for that matter, of Nikita Sergeyevich Khruschev (who also showed up at the secret funeral), since I was virtually left alone during the Purges of the 1930s. I was among the last surviving Old Bolsheviks who survived the purges and became powerful in the process. Thus when Beria looked at me, his expression changed from being nervous to being desperate. That was when I realized that Beria needed to gain some allies in his bid to take the leadership and I was in a position to either support him or not. Not long after, Molotov also looked at me with the same expression, as well as Zhdanov and Malenkov. It was then that I decided to break the calm and begin this eulogy.
“We have gathered here today to pay our respects and say goodbye to the man who led the great Soviet Union into the world. From merely a shadow of its former self to a superpower, Comrade Stalin has also led this nation in times of war. We shall never forget his inspiration as the Soviet people had triumphed over the jackals that led the former German Reich. For this, we say thank you to Comrade Stalin for his services.” I knew too well that this was just a lie, but like any other Communist Party official in the Soviet Union, deception was necessary in order to conceal one’s true feelings. Being open about your true feelings could easily give you a one-way trip to the gulag, all expenses cancelled and lives forfeited.
“To Comrade Stalin!” Everyone chanted back.
Soon after the eulogy, comrade Beria approached me once again. This time, comrade Molotov also approached me and I knew where this was going. I had to get Pravda to announce Stalin’s death, as well as to make a radio announcement too. The one thing I also noticed was that the entire Red Army leadership was mission. I can understand; Comrade Marshal Zhukov was busy in Germany, so he had to send General Chuikov as his emissary to Moscow. At this point, I felt that I needed to choose who to support, but to my surprise, both men were asking for my support in forming a troika with them.
“You’ve been a powerful figure since the Great Patriotic War, and in its aftermath you’ve accumulated enough power to lead the Soviet Union. Yet you are still hesitant as to who you’ll throw your support behind. As heirs to comrade Stalin, it would be prudent to work together,” Beria told me. Although I chose to ignore it, I could sense Molotov’s disgust towards him. I can safely say that the stories about Beria’s sexual perversion would have made me nervous too. “If you and I can work together in rebuilding the USSR, we can overtake the United States-“
“You’re better off supporting me, comrade Mikoyan.” Molotov began to glare at Beria. I realized that after this is over, every single potential candidate will literally beg me to support their claims. Although I did not harbor any ambitions to rule as the undisputed leader, I knew that if I remained a deputy, I’ll end up having to suck up to potentially incompetent or psychopathic rulers who would screw up worse than Stalin did. I made a fake smile and nodded.
“Comrades, I will let you know whom I’ll support.” With that, I took my leave. It was time for me to get the radio announcer to reveal the news.
---
“This is Radio Moscow speaking with a very important and somber message. Earlier yesterday, our brave and wise leader, Comrade Stalin, died of a fatal heart attack. Rumors of his failing health have now been confirmed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, Comrade Anastas Mikoyan. As of October 10th, 1945, comrade Stalin died while working hard to maintain the unity of the Soviet state. Across the world, democratic socialist leaders who are fighting for the establishment of their respective socialist paradise mourned and gave eulogies to the man credited with bringing the Great Patriotic War to a triumphant end with the capture of Berlin, the capital of the German Reich and the lair of the fascist beast. Since then, a temporary collective leadership consisting of comrades Mikoyan, Beria and Molotov are running the Soviet government until a more suitable leader can be chosen.” – Radio Moscow broadcast, October 11, 1945.
---
Excerpts from “Yet Again, Conflict Calls”
by: George Patton
Bloomberg Press
Chapter Five: The Unknown Enemy
I wasn’t surprised when I heard that Stalin had finally kicked the bucket. Rather, I was stunned at how the Soviet Union would end up with a power struggle just months after the war against both Hitler and the Japanese Empire had ended. Originally, I was supposed to command the 15th US Army Division in Bad Nauheim but it appears that I was cashiered out of Europe for the Pacific. According to General Eisenhower, I was deemed to be a bad influence on the German population because I kept the competent German officials in Bavaria who unfortunately joined the Nazi Party. By November 9th, I arrived in Tokyo for a secret assignment as a way to, as President Truman quoted, help me ‘change my behavior for the better’. I saw this as Truman’s way to use me as a scapegoat in case things go bad in the Pacific.
In reality though, I was right in saying that we had defeated the wrong enemy. Many other US officers berated me just because I had some negative feelings about the Soviets. I’m not a big fan of communism to be honest, and what the United States should be doing is to curtail any possible Soviet expansionist plans. With the death of Stalin, I’m nervous as to how the occupied territories of Eastern Europe will react, especially since the Red Army cracked down hard on the protesters there. Unfortunately, I would be tarred with the brush and painted as “crypto-Nazi” or some other label that most of the generals wanted to label me. I warned the Allied leadership that the possible succession crisis in the Soviet Union will not have a good result for the entire world, regardless of whoever succeeded Stalin. Just three years after my relocation to the Pacific, my warnings could come true after all, and guess how my prophecy will come true? Over some foolish thing in the Balkans, and one should be familiar with this phrase. It's how we got the Great War going in the first place. Unfortunately, the United States needed more time to build those atom bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
----
Turn One: What Omen Will This Bring Us All?
Excerpts from the Memoirs of Anastas Mikoyan:
Chapter Two: The Sign of Troubles
October of 1945 was yet like many months that had gone by, dull and boring. Sure, the Great Patriotic War had finally ended and the great Comrade Stalin was at the top of the world with his huge contribution to the defeat of the German fascists. Where was I during the war? I was sitting at the second most important position in the Soviet Union as Deputy Premier and in charge of logistics for the Red Army. Basically, I organized the arrangements of supplies that various Red Army officers needed to get the job done. Comrade Stalin took a shine on me for my great contributions to the point where I was decorated with the medal of “Hero of Socialist Labor” and I felt really relieved at how he praised me for my efforts. Yet deep inside, I harbored a secret grudge against the very same man who was responsible for hacking off Nakhchivan to the Azeris, as well as condemning the fate of my people that lived in the Nagorno-Karabagh region, also a part of the Azerbaijani SSR. Don’t get me wrong; I am a good communist, but it’s just that during the early days of the Bolshevik Revolution our leadership was trying to court the very same people responsible for the genocide that was unleashed upon us. Little did I know, October of 1945 was not going to be the same month as any other ever again.
I just minded my business in that fateful October, going about with the casual routines of working inside the Kremlin. I was on my way to see comrade Stalin for some problems that I had with the question on German reparations and how we’ll carry them out when Lavrenti Beria ran up to me as if he was deathly afraid of something. Soon enough, two NKVD guardsmen also came up to me but they didn’t look stern as if they were going to haul me off to the gulag on a series of false charges. Whatever it is, I could tell that this was not going to end well.
“Comrade Mikoyan? We need your help. Comrade Stalin’s having a heart attack,” Beria told me.
“Right, I’ll come with you.” I let Beria take the lead to Stalin’s office where he worked, and sure enough, his eyes were wide as he clutched at his chest. “Is he having a heart attack?”
“Da, and it’s not like the first time he’s had a health problem. He had that stroke on Victory Day, but I’m not sure if this is just mild or not.” He turned to the NKVD guards. “Check his pulse!”
“Yes, Comrade Beria.” One of the guards tried to calm Stalin down, but at the last moment he gasped and choked on just thin air. After that horrific scene, it was then that the great dictator had finally kicked the bucket…..for good.
Later that evening I gathered all the Party’s leadership inside the Kremlin to formally hear the news of Stalin’s untimely demise. Comrade Beria had his inner circle on one end while comrades Molotov, Malenkov and Zhdanov (who would also die within a couple months after Stalin’s death) were on the other side. I stood between the two groups and began to glance around the room. Sure enough, there was Beria who looked nervous and kept on glancing at the men beside him before looking at the faces of the comrades across from him. Now I don’t know if it’s just plain coincidence, but I had some theories on why Beria felt nervous, now that he had no boss from whom he can suck up to. Was it the fact that he felt worried at who would he have to suck up to next? Or was it the fact that he laid low while Stalin was still alive and only until after his death does he have to make a power play and assume the leadership?
It was also rather surprising that I had a survival instinct of a cockroach, or for that matter, of Nikita Sergeyevich Khruschev (who also showed up at the secret funeral), since I was virtually left alone during the Purges of the 1930s. I was among the last surviving Old Bolsheviks who survived the purges and became powerful in the process. Thus when Beria looked at me, his expression changed from being nervous to being desperate. That was when I realized that Beria needed to gain some allies in his bid to take the leadership and I was in a position to either support him or not. Not long after, Molotov also looked at me with the same expression, as well as Zhdanov and Malenkov. It was then that I decided to break the calm and begin this eulogy.
“We have gathered here today to pay our respects and say goodbye to the man who led the great Soviet Union into the world. From merely a shadow of its former self to a superpower, Comrade Stalin has also led this nation in times of war. We shall never forget his inspiration as the Soviet people had triumphed over the jackals that led the former German Reich. For this, we say thank you to Comrade Stalin for his services.” I knew too well that this was just a lie, but like any other Communist Party official in the Soviet Union, deception was necessary in order to conceal one’s true feelings. Being open about your true feelings could easily give you a one-way trip to the gulag, all expenses cancelled and lives forfeited.
“To Comrade Stalin!” Everyone chanted back.
Soon after the eulogy, comrade Beria approached me once again. This time, comrade Molotov also approached me and I knew where this was going. I had to get Pravda to announce Stalin’s death, as well as to make a radio announcement too. The one thing I also noticed was that the entire Red Army leadership was mission. I can understand; Comrade Marshal Zhukov was busy in Germany, so he had to send General Chuikov as his emissary to Moscow. At this point, I felt that I needed to choose who to support, but to my surprise, both men were asking for my support in forming a troika with them.
“You’ve been a powerful figure since the Great Patriotic War, and in its aftermath you’ve accumulated enough power to lead the Soviet Union. Yet you are still hesitant as to who you’ll throw your support behind. As heirs to comrade Stalin, it would be prudent to work together,” Beria told me. Although I chose to ignore it, I could sense Molotov’s disgust towards him. I can safely say that the stories about Beria’s sexual perversion would have made me nervous too. “If you and I can work together in rebuilding the USSR, we can overtake the United States-“
“You’re better off supporting me, comrade Mikoyan.” Molotov began to glare at Beria. I realized that after this is over, every single potential candidate will literally beg me to support their claims. Although I did not harbor any ambitions to rule as the undisputed leader, I knew that if I remained a deputy, I’ll end up having to suck up to potentially incompetent or psychopathic rulers who would screw up worse than Stalin did. I made a fake smile and nodded.
“Comrades, I will let you know whom I’ll support.” With that, I took my leave. It was time for me to get the radio announcer to reveal the news.
---
“This is Radio Moscow speaking with a very important and somber message. Earlier yesterday, our brave and wise leader, Comrade Stalin, died of a fatal heart attack. Rumors of his failing health have now been confirmed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, Comrade Anastas Mikoyan. As of October 10th, 1945, comrade Stalin died while working hard to maintain the unity of the Soviet state. Across the world, democratic socialist leaders who are fighting for the establishment of their respective socialist paradise mourned and gave eulogies to the man credited with bringing the Great Patriotic War to a triumphant end with the capture of Berlin, the capital of the German Reich and the lair of the fascist beast. Since then, a temporary collective leadership consisting of comrades Mikoyan, Beria and Molotov are running the Soviet government until a more suitable leader can be chosen.” – Radio Moscow broadcast, October 11, 1945.
---
Excerpts from “Yet Again, Conflict Calls”
by: George Patton
Bloomberg Press
Chapter Five: The Unknown Enemy
I wasn’t surprised when I heard that Stalin had finally kicked the bucket. Rather, I was stunned at how the Soviet Union would end up with a power struggle just months after the war against both Hitler and the Japanese Empire had ended. Originally, I was supposed to command the 15th US Army Division in Bad Nauheim but it appears that I was cashiered out of Europe for the Pacific. According to General Eisenhower, I was deemed to be a bad influence on the German population because I kept the competent German officials in Bavaria who unfortunately joined the Nazi Party. By November 9th, I arrived in Tokyo for a secret assignment as a way to, as President Truman quoted, help me ‘change my behavior for the better’. I saw this as Truman’s way to use me as a scapegoat in case things go bad in the Pacific.
In reality though, I was right in saying that we had defeated the wrong enemy. Many other US officers berated me just because I had some negative feelings about the Soviets. I’m not a big fan of communism to be honest, and what the United States should be doing is to curtail any possible Soviet expansionist plans. With the death of Stalin, I’m nervous as to how the occupied territories of Eastern Europe will react, especially since the Red Army cracked down hard on the protesters there. Unfortunately, I would be tarred with the brush and painted as “crypto-Nazi” or some other label that most of the generals wanted to label me. I warned the Allied leadership that the possible succession crisis in the Soviet Union will not have a good result for the entire world, regardless of whoever succeeded Stalin. Just three years after my relocation to the Pacific, my warnings could come true after all, and guess how my prophecy will come true? Over some foolish thing in the Balkans, and one should be familiar with this phrase. It's how we got the Great War going in the first place. Unfortunately, the United States needed more time to build those atom bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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