Given the fact aid was provided and one could argue less devastation without three crazed nazi lebensraum policies, how if Russia doing by modern day as of now?
I was thinking once industries are revived somewhat similar to otl japan. Once the industrial power built up by Stalin is revived and revitalized, Russia will become a “weak powerful” country.
As in not easy to invade, but not really very strong offensive capabilities.
Also, how are living standards? Given a market economy and aid probably expanded them higher than OTL (as well as not having Nazi armies rampage in the entire west). Also I’ll add agric sector can be revived and modernized without disastrous soviet policies.
Politically, how much revisionism is practiced as full on de stalinization cannot be practiced by the west. Is there any attempt to blame most of the war crimes on the NKVD and absolve much of the red army, and how much tit for tat between white Russia and Poland/Ukraine/Baltic’s diplomatically and Russian revisionism/irredentism? I would assume like otl Japanese and Koreans, some never patch up.
Sorry, a lot. Thanks
Love your story though!
Russia today is doing better than OTL, though not dramatically so. Most of their GDP comes from agriculture and other primary industries, while a lot of heavy industry is "tainted" with communism and mass expansion efforts like the 5 year plans aren't popular with the White governments. All the goods can be traded for anyway, and many are built with Russian steel regardless (think about the modern Australian economy for a rough comparison). Rebuilding efforts would be a lot slower than Japan - the best resource sites in the Ukraine are now in a different country and there's nothing like the Korean war to help rebuild business.
De-stalinisation isn't really something pushed by the Allies so much as is a result of the Whites being there in the first place (although the Allies no doubt encourage them). Stalin isn't just the big jerk who got the country into a war they would lose and killed millions of people like Hitler, he's also the jerk that started a whole bunch of famines in the 1930s and tried to kill religion (modern Russia ITTL is notably more religious). And the Whites hate him just because the communists tossed them out of power in 1918. The fact that the communists tried to overthrow the Republic again shortly after the Allies left doesn't help them either. The result is a state that tries to separate itself from its past as much as possible and actively denounces everyone who had any sort of power during the 1922-46 time. Moreso than Germany.
War crimes on the Soviet side were very much a NKVD thing - the Red Army generally behaved itself when fighting the Allies and was somewhat removed from the bad stuff (the NKVD was in Poland killing Jews and others, while the Army was fighting the Allies in Germany). Yes the Red Army did some bad things too, but nowhere near the extent of the OTL Wehrmacht, and generally the White government doesn't care that much. Mostly because the NKVD were the communist thugs and it is much easier to just blame communists for things.
Foreign relations are not exactly Russia's strong point - they've patched things up with Japan (which only really took a few near-worthless scraps of Siberia), but their European neighbours aren't too happy with them - but that's been the case for 300+ years. Ukraine in particular is fiercely nationalistic and doesn't think much of the country that lorded over them and then starved heaps of them once Stalin came along. Korea/Japan is a good analogue there. Poland and the Baltics (and Finland for that matter) have mended the fences a bit better, due to having all the land that they wanted and a more democratic government.
Russia isn't really powerful enough to afford antagonising its neighbours either - Poland and the Ukraine both distrust Russia, and the moment it makes a move on one the other is sure to come to their aid (not to mention what other powers are likely to do if they see what will be perceived as Stalin 2.0)
- BNC
