The POD of this timeline will be the increase of Lenin's health, not by much, just enough for him to push his own Letter to the Congress into the eye of the party, and let loose all hell in the political world of Soviet Russia.
I'm eager for any criticisms, and I don't mean that as spiel. I'm not the best historian and I'm not experienced in writing alternate histories. Any help is appreciated.
POD 1924 January: Lenin manages to get his letter read publicly at the Congress, thereby causing quiet a bit of a stir in Soviet Russia.
1924: Trotsky, a long time supporter of universal revolution, is faced with an incredibly messy situation. The left opposition is weakened from Stalin's manipulations. Trotsky is forced to work on increasing his own popularity with the party members and undoing the manipulations of Stalin and instating loyal party members to posts that he or the left can gain control of.
A general reading of the political atmosphere is chaos. Originally vastly in Stalin's favor, the atmosphere is turbulent, with many former Stalinists now without a political home as it were. The manipulations of Stalin ultimately failed however, and the consequences of that failure will last for a long time.
Stalin is removed from his position as general secretary (the position will never again reach the power it had when Stalin sat in it, too much suspicion) and from his position in the politburo. His followers disperse to other members, deserting him as would any good political opportunist.
Of the other major players, Nikolay Bukharin is left in a position of some power, having gained a (albeit a little disparaging) commendation from Lenin. He probably comes out with more advantage, scooping up some former Stalinists and appearing as a legitimate "second choice" to Trotsky, benefitting as he does from more or less the same praises and criticisms Trotsky did, though he has to toe the line of disagreement for some time, appearing as a more "marxist" individual while retaining most of his previous ideology and setting out to appear more "political".
Lev Kamenev decides to lay low as far as a member of the Politburo can. He's still more or less safe from the retributions of Trotsky or the opportunism of the right, and Lenin's wild card had not officially affected him, and for now his major political goal is satisfied. Trotsky won't gain full strength back till next year, leaving Lev in relative safety.
Mikhail Tomsky is more or less benign, unmentioned by Lenin, he keeps his mouths shut, lies low, and tries to strength Bukharin's position as opposed to Trotsky's.
Alexie Rykov is a relatively stable politician and forms an alliance with Bukharin, aiding Bukharin's climb into power in exchange for support, in time the two will form a close relationship and build up an alliance capable of withstanding many years of political difficulty. Rykov's power with the old members of the Right and Bukharin's with the former stalinists will direct the political atmosphere of the party for some time.
Gregory Zinoview works actively against Trotsky, snapping up most hard line stalinists and pushing against Trotsky's economic ideas. The conflict is ultimately somewhat successful, degrading Trotsky from a position of great strength to a position of moderate strength.
The Congress is expanded to 100 and the "legislative functions" of the State Planning Commission are ratified, as detailed in Lenin's letter. The last words of the leader of the revolution have a great deal of weight. At least, they do shortly after his death. These expansions, in theory solid, prove to take a while and will not have full effect in the year 1924.
And thats the end of the timeline's year. I intend to update this timeline twice weekly (monday and friday, hopefully by 6 PM GMT-6, one new year per update), altering past years according to helpful advise or due to an inaccuracy I catch too late. Its worth noting this timeline has already gone off my expected course, as I did research on the leading members of the Politburo, it proved quiet interesting. I look forward to continuing it further. I imagine it will get even more complicated once I escape the realm of Red politics into the wider public.
Thoughts? Comments?
I'm eager for any criticisms, and I don't mean that as spiel. I'm not the best historian and I'm not experienced in writing alternate histories. Any help is appreciated.
POD 1924 January: Lenin manages to get his letter read publicly at the Congress, thereby causing quiet a bit of a stir in Soviet Russia.
1924: Trotsky, a long time supporter of universal revolution, is faced with an incredibly messy situation. The left opposition is weakened from Stalin's manipulations. Trotsky is forced to work on increasing his own popularity with the party members and undoing the manipulations of Stalin and instating loyal party members to posts that he or the left can gain control of.
A general reading of the political atmosphere is chaos. Originally vastly in Stalin's favor, the atmosphere is turbulent, with many former Stalinists now without a political home as it were. The manipulations of Stalin ultimately failed however, and the consequences of that failure will last for a long time.
Stalin is removed from his position as general secretary (the position will never again reach the power it had when Stalin sat in it, too much suspicion) and from his position in the politburo. His followers disperse to other members, deserting him as would any good political opportunist.
Of the other major players, Nikolay Bukharin is left in a position of some power, having gained a (albeit a little disparaging) commendation from Lenin. He probably comes out with more advantage, scooping up some former Stalinists and appearing as a legitimate "second choice" to Trotsky, benefitting as he does from more or less the same praises and criticisms Trotsky did, though he has to toe the line of disagreement for some time, appearing as a more "marxist" individual while retaining most of his previous ideology and setting out to appear more "political".
Lev Kamenev decides to lay low as far as a member of the Politburo can. He's still more or less safe from the retributions of Trotsky or the opportunism of the right, and Lenin's wild card had not officially affected him, and for now his major political goal is satisfied. Trotsky won't gain full strength back till next year, leaving Lev in relative safety.
Mikhail Tomsky is more or less benign, unmentioned by Lenin, he keeps his mouths shut, lies low, and tries to strength Bukharin's position as opposed to Trotsky's.
Alexie Rykov is a relatively stable politician and forms an alliance with Bukharin, aiding Bukharin's climb into power in exchange for support, in time the two will form a close relationship and build up an alliance capable of withstanding many years of political difficulty. Rykov's power with the old members of the Right and Bukharin's with the former stalinists will direct the political atmosphere of the party for some time.
Gregory Zinoview works actively against Trotsky, snapping up most hard line stalinists and pushing against Trotsky's economic ideas. The conflict is ultimately somewhat successful, degrading Trotsky from a position of great strength to a position of moderate strength.
The Congress is expanded to 100 and the "legislative functions" of the State Planning Commission are ratified, as detailed in Lenin's letter. The last words of the leader of the revolution have a great deal of weight. At least, they do shortly after his death. These expansions, in theory solid, prove to take a while and will not have full effect in the year 1924.
And thats the end of the timeline's year. I intend to update this timeline twice weekly (monday and friday, hopefully by 6 PM GMT-6, one new year per update), altering past years according to helpful advise or due to an inaccuracy I catch too late. Its worth noting this timeline has already gone off my expected course, as I did research on the leading members of the Politburo, it proved quiet interesting. I look forward to continuing it further. I imagine it will get even more complicated once I escape the realm of Red politics into the wider public.
Thoughts? Comments?
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