Up untill the Moscow treaty of 1970 the West German government didn't recognize the DDR as a sovereign nation (even afterwards they only did so partially and only de-facto. West Germany never officially admited the existence of two german states). Instead they called it "SBZ" (soviet occupation zone, reffering to the period between 1945 and 1949. They continued to call it like that all the way into the 60s) or "Ostzone" (eastern zone), and claimed that it was not a state but rather a russian protectorate.
Now this gave me an idea: What if eastern Germany was actually a part of Russia? Now this is very much ASB in the context of socialism and the USSR as we know it. Yet what if go all the way back to the good old days of tsarism?
Lets say there is no february or october revolution. Lets say the russian advance into Germany in 1914 is better prepared and there is no battle of Tannenberg (In OTL the russian army actually advanced deep into Austria, before their decisive defeat in East Prussia turned the tide on the eastern front). By 1916 the russians take Berlin, while France and Britain have pushed the Kaisers army back deep into Germany. The war only lasted for two years and ended rather quickly and decisively. In the aftermath, Austria-Hungary falls appart and Germany looses lots of territory, including their polish regions to Tsarist Russia. The early 1920s Germany is a broken country marked by pollitical unrest and economic collapse. In 1926 the situation escalates and a communist revolution overthrows the imperial government. The new Germany quickly rebuilds and tries to spread the revolution by supporting leftist groups all over Europe. The capitalist powers, weakened by an economic crisis, are unable to intervene, and socialism spreads to Austria and the Netherlands. Yet in the late 30s a coalition of European capitalist powers is founded against Germany and the second world war begins. In the first years, Germany does suprisingly well. France falls to german arms and a homegrown communist revolution, while the russians are pushed back deep into their territory. In the end however the united power of the anti-communist alliance is too strong, and the british and russians forces meet in at the Elbe. After the dust has settled, Europe is divided amongst the victors. A british dominated union of european nations is founded in the west, while the russians install pupet regimes in the east. Though initially there were agreements of unifying Germany under a neutral and demilitarized government, hostilities quickly broke out between Russia and Britain, and so these treaties never materialized. While the british founded the German Republic in their part of the country, the russians directly anexed their zone, ostensibly to "purge the breading place of satanic communism from its sins" (don't laugh, Tsarist Russia was a country that came up with such kind of justifications). Over the next decades, the government in Petrograd tries to throughoutly russify Eastern Germany. Millions of germans either flee or are deported to Siberia, while the area is flooded with ethnic russians. By the 1970s german is nothing more than an illegal minority language. People dress like russians, behave like russians and identify as russian. The province of Greater Sorbia has truly become an integral part of the Rodina.
So how would the world look? How would the pollitical landscape in Germany be, and how would Germany develope overall?
[Note: I had this idea for quite some time. My "More successfull Russification" thread eventually inspired me to post it].
Now this gave me an idea: What if eastern Germany was actually a part of Russia? Now this is very much ASB in the context of socialism and the USSR as we know it. Yet what if go all the way back to the good old days of tsarism?
Lets say there is no february or october revolution. Lets say the russian advance into Germany in 1914 is better prepared and there is no battle of Tannenberg (In OTL the russian army actually advanced deep into Austria, before their decisive defeat in East Prussia turned the tide on the eastern front). By 1916 the russians take Berlin, while France and Britain have pushed the Kaisers army back deep into Germany. The war only lasted for two years and ended rather quickly and decisively. In the aftermath, Austria-Hungary falls appart and Germany looses lots of territory, including their polish regions to Tsarist Russia. The early 1920s Germany is a broken country marked by pollitical unrest and economic collapse. In 1926 the situation escalates and a communist revolution overthrows the imperial government. The new Germany quickly rebuilds and tries to spread the revolution by supporting leftist groups all over Europe. The capitalist powers, weakened by an economic crisis, are unable to intervene, and socialism spreads to Austria and the Netherlands. Yet in the late 30s a coalition of European capitalist powers is founded against Germany and the second world war begins. In the first years, Germany does suprisingly well. France falls to german arms and a homegrown communist revolution, while the russians are pushed back deep into their territory. In the end however the united power of the anti-communist alliance is too strong, and the british and russians forces meet in at the Elbe. After the dust has settled, Europe is divided amongst the victors. A british dominated union of european nations is founded in the west, while the russians install pupet regimes in the east. Though initially there were agreements of unifying Germany under a neutral and demilitarized government, hostilities quickly broke out between Russia and Britain, and so these treaties never materialized. While the british founded the German Republic in their part of the country, the russians directly anexed their zone, ostensibly to "purge the breading place of satanic communism from its sins" (don't laugh, Tsarist Russia was a country that came up with such kind of justifications). Over the next decades, the government in Petrograd tries to throughoutly russify Eastern Germany. Millions of germans either flee or are deported to Siberia, while the area is flooded with ethnic russians. By the 1970s german is nothing more than an illegal minority language. People dress like russians, behave like russians and identify as russian. The province of Greater Sorbia has truly become an integral part of the Rodina.
So how would the world look? How would the pollitical landscape in Germany be, and how would Germany develope overall?
[Note: I had this idea for quite some time. My "More successfull Russification" thread eventually inspired me to post it].