AHC- Russia Joins NATO

I will mention elephant in the table full nuclear disarmament or close to it down to a handful of weapons, in return for NATO membership.

To achieve this, have a true full blown Russian civil war after the fall of communism... POD after the fall is too late for my idea, must be during the fall... the more unstable it is the better this works. The military must allow this, so have the money spent on nukes spent on conventional forces instead, especially salaries to ensure their loyalty to the new regime. Bottom up approach is better with an oath-of-loyalty from the individual soldier to the new President, and have the new President be a true democracy advocate. Basically my idea is to go full hog Rome / Egypt with the KGB and military at each other's throats with the President commanding the loyalty of the individual soldier with personal charisma and hard dollars rather than appeal to the past.

Since the point of NATO is as counter to Russia / USSR, if they possess only a few nukes or a handful, NATO becomes pointless and Russia would be allowed to join as an afterthought / political fig leaf. Everyone stays happy, except for the KGB / Putin types who are quietly retired when nobody is looking.
 
Won´t be enough. Just consider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances

The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994, providing security assurances by its signatories relating to Belarus', Kazakhstan's and Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The Memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents.[1]
The memorandum included security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
As a result, between 1994 and 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons.


And then look at ukraine and crimea today (see "territorial integrity" above). Maybe all things you mention plus nuclear weapons for all east european states would be enough.

Good point, although I did mention a change in leadership to reflect globalization over expansion, as well as some better solidifying of territorial integrity. Not sure how to ensure that someone else doesn't get in charge and invade somewhere. Nukes may be needed, or some advanced conventional weaponry. Or a wall/trench network.
 

Pomphis

Banned
Good point, although I did mention a change in leadership to reflect globalization over expansion, as well as some better solidifying of territorial integrity. Not sure how to ensure that someone else doesn't get in charge and invade somewhere.

Exactly. Nobody did foresee putin. But he did gain power. I don´t really see anything that could reliably prevent a putin for at least several decades. And that would be necessary.
 
Exactly. Nobody did foresee putin. But he did gain power. I don´t really see anything that could reliably prevent a putin for at least several decades. And that would be necessary.

The best possible way to prevent a rouge Russia from infiltrating NATO and destroying it from within is to simply modify the NATO treaty to include an expulsion mechanism. Thus should Russia go rouge 3/4 of nations can expel it from the organization.
 
The best possible way to prevent a rouge Russia from infiltrating NATO and destroying it from within is to simply modify the NATO treaty to include an expulsion mechanism. Thus should Russia go rouge 3/4 of nations can expel it from the organization.

Why didn't they put such a mechanism in OTL?
 
The best possible way to prevent a rouge Russia from infiltrating NATO and destroying it from within is to simply modify the NATO treaty to include an expulsion mechanism. Thus should Russia go rouge 3/4 of nations can expel it from the organization.
So, if Russia goes Red, again, eh? :)
Edit: emphases added
 
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