With the 100 year anniversary of the Russian Republic coming up, one might forget that during the early days of the Russian Republic, it almost fell to communism in a failed Communist revolution/coup in 1918 but was thwarted by loyalist troops in Petrograd. So, how could Russia have gone communist? Have Kerensky continue the war as opposed to suing for peace with Germany? Also, how would a Communist Russia have affected the world? Is the French Revolution of 1920 averted or do we see it happen earlier due to the Russian example?
DBWI: Communist Russia?
Very hard to know: the butterflies arising from such a change would have been colossal.
We might not have had the gradual thawing of relations between Russia and Japan during the later 1920s and 30s, of course. Which, it's been argued, was what facilitated the 1939-1941 German-Japanese conflict - with things peaceful to the North, they were able to rotate military assets to attack and overrun German-held Indochina and the German concessions in China. Of course, they were damn lucky that the French began their war in 1941 - fighting for their lives at home left Germany willing to abandon the colonial territories easily.
Of course, the thaw didn't stop Japan siding with Britain once the Great Game got underway again... And on that subject: what would the Great Game between the British Empire and Russia have looked like with a Communist Russia? Probably a lot more bitter - less simply about geopolitical influence, more ideologically-based, I imagine... Or could it even have devolved into war?
We might not have had the gradual thawing of relations between Russia and Japan during the later 1920s and 30s, of course. Which, it's been argued, was what facilitated the 1939-1941 German-Japanese conflict - with things peaceful to the North, they were able to rotate military assets to attack and overrun German-held Indochina and the German concessions in China. Of course, they were damn lucky that the French began their war in 1941 - fighting for their lives at home left Germany willing to abandon the colonial territories easily.
Of course, the thaw didn't stop Japan siding with Britain once the Great Game got underway again... And on that subject: what would the Great Game between the British Empire and Russia have looked like with a Communist Russia? Probably a lot more bitter - less simply about geopolitical influence, more ideologically-based, I imagine... Or could it even have devolved into war?
It probably would have been a lot worse as at least the Russian Republic and the British Empire were both democracies and the Republic of Bharat (OOC: Basically Northern India+Bangladesh+Pakistan) and the Union of South India, despite the war scare in the 1960s and all those border skirmishes, didn't go to war as the Russians restrained Bharat (the Russians were supportive of the Indian nationalist movement and the support carried over after independence).
Well, it was an obscure ideology which the "Bolsheviks" in Russia adhered to along with other revolutionary movements but was eclipsed by syndicalism as the main revolutionary left-wing ideology after the Second French Revolution in 1920 turned France into a syndicalist state.
OOC: The OP indicates the Russian Republic is still around and is "celebrating it's 100th anniversary".
Well, thanks to that political "thaw" between the Russian Republic and then-Empire of Japan (now the Imperial Republic of Japan) by the early 1930's, Japan has the southern 1/3 of Sakhalin Island (the Japanese call it Kurafuto) and the western half the Kuril Islands chain (Kunashir to Chirpoy) in 2017.
Sakhalin is quite resource rich, with forestry products and natural gas being its major export products (northern Sakhalin has one of the world's most productive natural gas fields). And the Kuril Islands contain some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Indeed, there are substantial Russian communities living a Wakkanai, Abashiri and Nemuro in northern and eastern Hokkaido, most in support of Russian Republic fishing fleet boats that dock there after fishing operations in the Kurils. Indeed, it's a bit strange to eat Sapporo-style miso ramen with small pelmeni dumpings on top, pretty common on Hokkaido nowadays because of the Russian influence.
Sakhalin is quite resource rich, with forestry products and natural gas being its major export products (northern Sakhalin has one of the world's most productive natural gas fields). And the Kuril Islands contain some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Indeed, there are substantial Russian communities living a Wakkanai, Abashiri and Nemuro in northern and eastern Hokkaido, most in support of Russian Republic fishing fleet boats that dock there after fishing operations in the Kurils. Indeed, it's a bit strange to eat Sapporo-style miso ramen with small pelmeni dumpings on top, pretty common on Hokkaido nowadays because of the Russian influence.
Its only obscure because people ignore the fact that Egypt was a communist state and not a syndicalist one from 1945-1955.
Then they liberalized the economy and the Egyptians try to pretend that it was just a silly phase on their path to democracy.
So, speaking of left-wing revolutionary regimes, who do you think is the Commune of France's next leader? A reformer like Hollande? Or a hardliner?
It was similar to what syndicalism bcame, except instead a congress of trade unions holding supreme political authority, it was supposed to be a political party. Thinking about it, a political party doesn't have any economic structure, so it would basically be a bunch of politicians dictating how the economy should be managed from their desks in Moscow. In what we got instead in France and other places, the members of the Congress of Trade Unions actually represent their unions and spend more time managing them than in the TUC. But it's more complicated than taht too, but I have to go now.
Anaxagoras
Banned
To the extent that I can understand any of this "communist" or "Bolshevik" stuff, it sounds so impractical that I can't understand why anyone would take it seriously as a political or economic concept.
The syndicalists propped France up quite a few steps above where it was pre-the 1920 revolution, so I can see them helping Russia become an industrial power, which is pretty terrifying. The Russians and the Japanese didn't like each other in 1919 either, so I reckon a pretty big war will happen. Which Japan would obviously lose, because Russia simply has more stuff.
What would someone call this communist Russian country? Everything I can think of is incredibly silly.
- BNC
What would someone call this communist Russian country? Everything I can think of is incredibly silly.
- BNC
Judging from the word 'communist', I would imagine the Second Russian Republic would be a loose scattering of communes replacing the old Russian cities. The 'Bolshevics' would probably put the capital in Siberia to distance itself from European affairs & make a European invasion much harder. I suspect the agrarian Russia would use their weak federal government to mine the heck out of Siberia, then sell the industrially-based product to the US. I feel the US & Russia would have a cordial relationship, since they would surely be smart enough to avoid war.
So, how do you think would a Communist Russia go along with Syndicalist France (if the French Revolution of 1920 isn't butterflied away)?
European domination between them, at least as long as the USA doesn't get involved. If it does... I guess that would depend on where they focussed their efforts. Probably the USA would be interfering near Vladivostok, which would be a mistake, as nothing is there for 1000s of kms.
- BNC
OOC: If you are wondering what borders Russia has, they have 1922 borders of the USSR+modern Finland-Russia border and the eastern Kuriles.
Honestly I think you would probably need an early pod stopping the split in the rsdlp after that they were basically screwed to not have the mass support necessary to take power. Maybe butterfly away Lenin and it could happen