Point of divergence: Following the overthrow of Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev declared the 1954 transfer of Crimea to be null and void, pushing for the immediate return of the Crimean Oblast from the Ukrainian SSR back to the Russian SFSR.
Which out Crimea referendum. Separatism may not get enough motivation. So no Donbas war.Well Western and Russian Federation relations will not be as ruined by sanctions in this world but the whole Russian backed insurgency in Eastern Ukraine will still happen if the Ukrainians launch a coup against any Russian friendly leader.