Like it says on the tin. Could a successful August Coup, assuming the USSR does not collapse more violently before that, eventually push the hardliners to start WWIII?
Hopefully not. But still, I am just asking for fun.![]()
This late in the game, highly unlikely. The focus would likely be on domestic issues, at least initially - securing the stability of the regime, cracking down on rival factions, seperatists in the SSRs, etc. While there are still large amounts of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe, they have suddenly found themselves in the middle of unfriendly territory and would likely be attacked by their former Warsaw Pact comrades if they tried to start anything. In the future, a Soviet attack on Eastern Europe or on Iran would still be a possibility.
You might have a greater chance if the coup is launched in, say, 1988 - 1989 and the hardliners try to launch a crackdown in Eastern Europe that spirals out of control
What would be the exact borders of a post-coup Soviet Union, though? I imagine that at least the Baltic states would be able to successfully assert their independence.
What would be the exact borders of a post-coup Soviet Union, though? I imagine that at least the Baltic states would be able to successfully assert their independence.
My guess is that the hardliners would do their utmost to keep the Baltics in the Union - especially seeing as Boris Pugo was himself LatvianWhat would be the exact borders of a post-coup Soviet Union, though? I imagine that at least the Baltic states would be able to successfully assert their independence.
My guess is that the hardliners would do their utmost to keep the Baltics in the Union - especially seeing as Boris Pugo was himself Latvian
Same as pre-war the Baltics and other republics that left pre-coup are not powerful enough to leave by forceWhat would be the exact borders of a post-coup Soviet Union, though? I imagine that at least the Baltic states would be able to successfully assert their independence.
Called it! WWIII happening over the Baltics!![]()
Wasn't that the plot of the video game "World In Conflict"?
But why? They weren't given NATO memberhip until 2004 IOTL. Besides that, the US and most of the Western world had considered the Soviet claim to the Baltics illegitimate for years and did very little - why would they fight and die for them now?
Wasn't that the plot of the video game "World In Conflict"?
Iran seems like the safest bet. Shares a land border with the USSR, is historically an enemy of the USSR, and the US would intervene to defend against Soviet domination of the Persian Gulf as per Carter Doctrine.That is kind of the thing. WHY would the post-coup USSR start WWIII? And where?
IIRC the actual state of the Soviet government is never explicitly stated, but the game takes place in 1989 and the Warsaw Pact is still intact.
Iran seems like the safest bet. Shares a land border with the USSR, is historically an enemy of the USSR, and the US would intervene to defend against Soviet domination of the Persian Gulf as per Carter Doctrine.
A semi-plausible scenario could be that the hardliners fear that Iran will take advantage of the somewhat chaotic state of the post-coup Soviet Union to spread Islamic Revolution to the Muslim SSRs, leading to an invasion.
It would be if they're dumb enough to try to take the whole thing, It's more likely they just rip off Azerbaijani parts and call it a day.Iran seems like the safest bet. Shares a land border with the USSR, is historically an enemy of the USSR, and the US would intervene to defend against Soviet domination of the Persian Gulf as per Carter Doctrine.
It would be if they're dumb enough to try to take the whole thing, It's more likely they just rip off Azerbaijani parts and call it a day.
This is only a little more than a decade after the Embassy crisis. If the USSR wants the Ayatollah gone then it could work out a deal with the USA to either partition the country or install a regime tolerable to both.A semi-plausible scenario could be that the hardliners fear that Iran will take advantage of the somewhat chaotic state of the post-coup Soviet Union to spread Islamic Revolution to the Muslim SSRs, leading to an invasion.
This is only a little more than a decade after the Embassy crisis. If the USSR wants the Ayatollah gone then it could work out a deal with the USA to either partition the country or install a regime tolerable to both.
Carter Doctrine and the issue of occupying 45 million people in huge mountainous areaWhy not just make an Iranian pro-Communist government after they annex the Azerbaijani parts?
Carter Doctrine and the issue of occupying 45 million people in huge mountainous area