It has become a fairly common trope for Joseph Stalin's parents to move to the united states and then Stalin is born in america and eventually becomes the president of the United States and turns it into a dictatorship. Now comes the challenge, have any united states president born after 1860 become the leader of the soviet union.
AHC: Do a "Joe Steele" with any US president.
- Thread starter JustinianTheGrand
- Start date
Madeleine Birchfield
Banned
Harding would be the first American president that would qualify for the challenge.
Is the question just "which US President's parents are most likely to end up in Russia"? The thing about the Joe Steele situation is that the conceit of Stalin's parents moving to America is just a way of exploring the real story: what if a Stalin-like figure ended up running the USA. I don't think anyone believes in genetic determinism enough to think there's a "lead a Communist superpower" gene.
It would be interesting to do a timeline where Stalin was replaced with a more moderate, American president-style figure (though that would be in a post-1900 forum). But it's very hard to make that actually an alternate version of a US president without changing history tremendously; immigration from Russia to America was much more common than the other way around. Maybe some ancestor of a US President is a sort of John Hughes figure, brought in to modernize the empire? I don't think any presidents came from the sorts of families that the Tsar wanted; are there any with famous engineer grandparents?
It would be interesting to do a timeline where Stalin was replaced with a more moderate, American president-style figure (though that would be in a post-1900 forum). But it's very hard to make that actually an alternate version of a US president without changing history tremendously; immigration from Russia to America was much more common than the other way around. Maybe some ancestor of a US President is a sort of John Hughes figure, brought in to modernize the empire? I don't think any presidents came from the sorts of families that the Tsar wanted; are there any with famous engineer grandparents?
I think a Harry Truman figure, someone who basically gets plucked from obscurity from the mid ranks of the party, perhaps because of seniority and the gerontocratic nature of succession in the late Soviet Union, would be most likely of US presidents I can think of.
Or, perhaps Eisenhower, had he been a Red Army general who rose to power in the post-Stalin instability in which the army played a role.
Nixon had the personality for it (paranoia, pragmatism, vindictiveness), but probably would have had trouble getting into the party's ranks to begin with.
Or, perhaps Eisenhower, had he been a Red Army general who rose to power in the post-Stalin instability in which the army played a role.
Nixon had the personality for it (paranoia, pragmatism, vindictiveness), but probably would have had trouble getting into the party's ranks to begin with.
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Problem is that Russia is not such country which would had attracted immigration. So probably someone would move there due idological reasons. So someone president's parents should be socialists if not outright communists. Or then you have get USA really failed state but even then more plausible countries are Canada, Mexico, UK or Germany.
Lusitania
Donor
The premise of joe Steele is one in which a person is able to legitimately get elected as president and due to economic, political or international circumstances and together with supportive cast is able to manipulate the electoral process to the point he come dictator.
Where joe steel person comes from is not important. The thread author used Stalin as an example but person could come from any background including native born to original colonial family.
Where joe steel person comes from is not important. The thread author used Stalin as an example but person could come from any background including native born to original colonial family.
When I talked about Joe Steel I meant specifically Stalin himself being born in America. Another example would be the Iron Eagle TL or the TL where Bismarck becomes president.
Historian299
Banned
An American born becoming leader of Russia would only be possible if his parents immigrated to the US but moved back to Russia shortly after their son was born. No OTL US president meets this criteria. Russia isn't a immigrant society like the Anglo countries are.
Now, I can easily see an American born becoming dictator of Germany or Italy, since both countries had lots of immgrants who returned. Russia had immigrants but almost all did not return
Bonus if an American born becomes dictator of Britain, since they have had multiple PM who were born in the New World
Now, I can easily see an American born becoming dictator of Germany or Italy, since both countries had lots of immgrants who returned. Russia had immigrants but almost all did not return
Bonus if an American born becomes dictator of Britain, since they have had multiple PM who were born in the New World
Iron Eagle was Adolf Hitler, not Otto Von Bismarck. I'm doing a time-displaced Bismarck. Stay tuned for that.
That’s why there was an Or. I just forgot the name of the Bismarck one
We Lacked Merkel to complete the trilogy, or the mother of all Saga. A TL starting with President Bismarck, passing up President Hitler(Adenauer or brand as bonus) and end up with president merkel
The life of Ivan Iosifovich Kemenev
In a way Ivan Kemenev was destined for a role in leadership, his family had been an institution in Yetkaterinburg almost as soon as his ancestors had moved there during the height of the Irish Famine. Despite this his father had been prudent enough the side with the Communists early and essentially bought his way into the party in the midsts of the First World War. Kemenev himself would prove himself a capable soldier during the Great Patriotic War, winning the Order of Lenin for valor and getting him into the Soviet Politburo after a short stint writing for Pravda. Kemenev's charisma and war record helped him establish himself as an alternative to Khrushchev during the latter's ousting in 1960.
Kemenev's reign as general secretary would be an historic one, being credited with a improving the lives of Soviet minorities, cracking down on corruption, and founding the Society of Socialist Fraternity. In foreign policy he would be known for his effective handling of the Crimean Missile Crisis and less effective handling of the Kerch Bay Assault.
While historic his reign was cut tragically short. During a tour of Sochi he was shot and killed, the assassin was killed during a shot out less than an hour later but it was already too late. When the United States offered their condolences the Soviet government responded with a chilling silence, a week passed like this before the Soviet's made their report. The General Secretary had been killed by a man named Harvey Lee Oswald, he was an American trained sniper...
In a way Ivan Kemenev was destined for a role in leadership, his family had been an institution in Yetkaterinburg almost as soon as his ancestors had moved there during the height of the Irish Famine. Despite this his father had been prudent enough the side with the Communists early and essentially bought his way into the party in the midsts of the First World War. Kemenev himself would prove himself a capable soldier during the Great Patriotic War, winning the Order of Lenin for valor and getting him into the Soviet Politburo after a short stint writing for Pravda. Kemenev's charisma and war record helped him establish himself as an alternative to Khrushchev during the latter's ousting in 1960.
Kemenev's reign as general secretary would be an historic one, being credited with a improving the lives of Soviet minorities, cracking down on corruption, and founding the Society of Socialist Fraternity. In foreign policy he would be known for his effective handling of the Crimean Missile Crisis and less effective handling of the Kerch Bay Assault.
While historic his reign was cut tragically short. During a tour of Sochi he was shot and killed, the assassin was killed during a shot out less than an hour later but it was already too late. When the United States offered their condolences the Soviet government responded with a chilling silence, a week passed like this before the Soviet's made their report. The General Secretary had been killed by a man named Harvey Lee Oswald, he was an American trained sniper...