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Chapter Twelve
January 1966: The economies of the Western nations begin to slide into a belated postwar recession. In the United States, President Humphrey takes the blame, as does Harold Wilson in the UK

January 23, 1966: It is announced to considerable mourning amongst rock fans that Paul McCartney of Beatles fame has died of cancer. On January 7, 1965, the day of the destruction of Norwich and Ipswitch, McCartney was in the coastal town of Felixstowe and witnessed the destruction of Ipswitch. Subsequently, the rock group whose music had thrilled youngsters all over the West disbands.

February 14, 1966: American ambassador to Ukraine Foy Kohler meets with Ukrainian president Pavel Yulosovich (1) in Zhytomyr (2) to discuss an American aid package to Ukraine to rebuild Kiev and Kharkov. Yulosovich is profoundly grateful for the help offered but dismayed by the American's prediction that owing to the high levels of radiation in those two cities, serious reconstruction work cannot begin until 1969 or so. (3)

April 1, 1966: In the Chinese city of Xicao (Urumqi), a Hunanese pork butcher by name of Liu Zhaxi is killed by Muslim locals for selling his wares in public. A brutal police investigation sparks riots amongst the Uighur population, who after almost a year of Han Chinese occupation which has seen more and more forced sinicisation have had enough.

Within days, much of Xicao is in flames, and Chinese Army troops are deployed to quell the rioting. When it is all over after a month, approximately 2000 Uighurs have been killed. It is this which furthers Chiang Kai-shek's determination that China's minorities must be "airbrushed away, as one might a stain from a beautiful photograph", as the leader puts it...

Subsequently, Chiang Ching-kuo is appointed military governor of Xinjiang province.

May 18, 1966: On what will be known by all as "Remembrance Day", parades are held in the major cities of all the combatants, Moscow included. In Nanjing and Berlin, these celebrations are notably subdued, with both Chiang and German chancellor Ludwig Erhard stressing themes of national unity and preparedness, as well as gratitude to the USA for saving them from the Soviets. In Washington, President Humphrey is able to use the ceremonies as a pleasant distraction from the still-stagnant American economy, as well as to boost his chances for re-election...

Meanwhile, in Moscow, the ceremony is very small, with Yuri Andropov merely commenting on the need to avoid further war and to reconstruct as best as possible. Although Soviet television does not cover them, naturally, protests against stagnant living conditions and corruption break out in several major cities in the Central Asian republics on this date.

June 1966- August 1966: What is known by contemporary victims and later historians as the "Summer of Blood" (4) commences in Xinjiang, Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia. Sinicisation efforts, which up until now have been limited to changing names and signs, as well as deportation of locals and importation of Han Chinese, now become far more violent. Chinese troops drag Uighurs, Tibetans, Mongolians, and Russians out into the street, raiding and confiscating their property, and in many cases "losing track of them" as they take their prisoners to "another location". Crackdowns on Islam and Buddhism, as well as more general aspects of Tibetan, Mongolian, Uighur, and Russian culture. (5) Many old enough to recall the newsreels about the Warsaw ghetto of 1940 and Kristallnacht draw parallels between the two. In spite of Chiang's attempts to keep the whole thing hushed up, world leaders from President Humphrey to Pope Paul VI to the Dalai Lama (who has been living in exile in Norway since 1964) condemn Chiang. Sino-US relations cool somewhat, but the theme of Allied unity remains strong, and America is still actively assisting with Chinese reconstruction.

June 7, 1966: The Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and even Moldova celebrate Independence Day. In the former Warsaw Pact states, June 7 becomes known as Liberation Day. President Humphrey sends these nations congratulatory messages over television.

June 10, 1966: Reportedly after a row with his colleagues, and no doubt deeply embarrassed by the recent celebrations in the Western world, Gennandy Voronov resigns from all of his posts in the Soviet government, going into early retirement in Helsinki, where depression and boredom will kill him seven years later.

June 21, 1966: French President Charles de Gaulle announces French withdrawal from NATO. Western anger at France for opting out of World War III is already high, and few are sad to see Paris leave. This will mark France's "departure from the West". (6) President Humphrey makes a speech reminding "all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation of their heavy and deep collective responsibility to one and another.", effectively condemning France and saying "good riddance." De Gaulle, meanwhile, is said to write in a letter that "we shall astonish the world by our ingratitude", presumably referring to the 1944 Liberation.

July 27, 1966: Mongol dissident (7) Tsumabal Yatyayar addresses the United Nations, criticising Chinese human rights violations. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese simply use their seat on their Security Council to block a Swedish-proposed resolution to send an investigation team to Mongolia.

September 6, 1966: In the first conflict in the post-Soviet space, Armenia and Azerbaijan go to war. One of the main causes of the conflict is that Baku demands an "Azeri Corridor" between the bulk of the country and its small southwestern territorial enclave, the two being divided by Armenia. Azeri troops invade Armenia from two sides, pinning the defenders. The danger to the Armenian capital of Yerevan is very much present, but the defenders are able to adequately protect the capital. Georgia, meanwhile, covertly aids the Armenians with money and supplies, while officially remaining neutral.

For NATO, the Azeri-Armenian War poses a real challenge, as it is the first time that two of its members have been at war with each other. Some within the organisation call for Azerbaijan's expulsion, but no-one is willing to go there, at least not yet. Instead, the United States and Great Britain propose mediation, which both sides swiftly reject, looking to become the dominant player in the South Caucasus.

September 9, 1966: The Armenian town of Tatev falls to the Azeris. Combat high in the mountains is brutal, and logistics rapidly becomes an issue for both sides.

September 13, 1966: President Humphrey signs the Public Infrastructure Readjustment Act (PIRA). Closely modelled after the public-works programmes of the New Deal, it's designed to alleviate the high unemployment and sluggish economy which have been troubling the USA for nine months. Bitterly opposed by Republicans, it will become a bone of contention in the mid-terms two months from now.

September 22, 1966: Yerevan falls to Azeri troops and the Armenian government sues for peace. Baku annexes the province of Syunik but otherwise takes relatively little territory.

Defeat in the brief war creates massive anger at both the West and Armenia's democratic government for allowing this to happen. However, the truth is that Armenia is too small and weak to stand toe-to-toe with Azerbaijan, and as such little can be done for now.

In Tiblisi, there is recognition that Azerbaijan will now be Georgia's main competitor into the indefinite future and that a weakened Armenia might prove a useful puppet state to use as a too, especially if they were to suffer a Georgian-backed revolution...

Meanwhile, many in the West are questioning the validity of NATO's postwar expansion into the South Caucasus, with some calling for Azerbaijan to be expelled for its acts of aggression. President Humphrey proposes the notion of stationing US forces along the Azeri-Armenian border as a buffer, but that idea gets nowhere. For the moment, at least, little can be done. Combined with the French decision to leave NATO back in June, 1966 becomes the low point of the alliance, with whispers that other states will leave soon.

October 1, 1966: On behalf of Yuri Andropov and Dimitry Polyansky, the Soviet ambassador to Azerbaijan congratulates Azeri president Vali Akhundov on his victory. However, the improvement in Soviet-Azeri relations which Moscow might've been hoping for does not materialise.

November 8, 1966: In the US midterms, the Democratic Party has a bad night. Several key gubernatorial and Congressional positions swing right, as a result of the nine months of a sluggish economy. However, in a public opinion poll conducted a week later, 73% of those polled approved of President Humphrey. Thus, it all remains up in the air as to how 1968 will play out...

December 20, 1966: In Britain and America, the highly unconventional album Patchwork Recollections is released. In a clear reference to the war, four of its songs are called "Beijing" (8), "Jena Fields", "Broken East Anglia", and "Amsterdam Fragments". What is so unusual about this album is the fact that it is almost entirely instrumental, with none of the fast-paced love songs which characterised pre-1964 music. Vocalisation does not, for the most part, take the shape of lyrics, but rather of voice instrumentation, using the voice as an accompaniment to the instruments. Although many more conservative critics, elderly, and a few diehard hippies condemn Patchwork Recollections, it sells well, striking a chord with, as one music columnist puts it, "the desolate, lonely housewife, whose life went from an idyllic one to a hard, unsure one, without a husband, with countless cities wiped off the map, giving her expression of her innermost feelings in a way that no other artist has tried. A new kind of music for a new time."

(1) Fictitious
(2) With Kiev having been nuked in WWIII, Zhitomir is the temporary capital of the Republic of Ukraine
(3) It took approximately five years for reconstruction to begin in Hiroshima and Nagasaki OTL
(4) Obviously derived from the OTL term "Summer of Love" (which will be butterflied away ITTL). The phrase will be instantly recognisable ITTL.
(5) But not the Russian Orthodox Church. In spite of his increasingly vicious actions, Chiang is still a Methodist, and Methodism is spreading ITTL in China rapidly. Thus, Chiang does not persecute any form of Christianity
(6) OTL, except butterflies will make it more important and extreme
(7) Fictitious
(8) For an example of what "Beijing" might sound like, imagine an Asian variant on David Bowie's Warsawza (the link, regrettably, no longer works)
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