DBWI: No Baltic United States

With the Russian SFSR not falling along with the rest of East Asia, and being bolstered with investments from China and South Korea, the Baltic states became increasingly fearful of another Russian invasion and thus decided to form a military, economic and political union unprecedented in modern history by the late 1990s, leading to further integration of the EU itself and the beginning of the Japan-Taiwan Union. Currently the Baltic United States is one of the few ex-Communist states that have successfully "recovered" from its rule; its GDP per capita is comparable to Norway and Sweden. Its recent humanitarian aid mission into Communist Russia has raised hopes of better relations between Russia and ex-Communist states in Eastern Europe, but only time will tell.
What if the BUS never came to lead Eastern Europe in economic and social development, along with movements of federalisation around the world? How would have the world come out from the fall of Communism? How would have Russia fared in this scenario?
Here's a pre-Union map of the Baltics:
baltic-states.jpg

(OOC: POD is your choice. Russia has remained Communist, while retaining its Central Asian SSRs. North Korea has become traded for more cash from South Korea.)
 
It was amazing that this federation even was so succesful when there is three main languages and two main Christian nomination. So non-existence of Baltic Federation would demand stronger nationalism and so probably Baltic Russians would have bit worse being. Probably economy of Baltia wouldn't be so good as in OTL and probably Decession '08 would hit for them bit harder.

I suspect too that without Baltic Federation there wouldn't be very strong Kaliningrad secessionist movement. And separate Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia might have tenser relationship with Russia than in OTL.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Well obviously there would be no Baltic Defense Pact, so NATO would be a lot bigger. Would the Baltic State join? Estonia and Lithuania, but Latvia...
 
The Japan-Taiwan Union was one of the more unusual things to come out of this. I suppose it makes sense, given that relations between the two nations had never been as...fraught as they had between Japan and mainland China, but it was still surprising. I mean, China threatened war over the whole thing - everyone expected any talk of union to end then...

And they're pretty friendly with Vietnam, too - in fact, it's been argued that their mutual trade pacts with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were what allowed those countries to remain stable. The Japan-Taiwan Union, and the Indochinese nations...tight little group, none of whom like China...
 
I think that one ot the key issues is a simple one: would the Baltic still be independent in the first place? After all,it would be a heck of a lot easier for Russia to keep them if they weren't united
 
Well obviously there would be no Baltic Defense Pact, so NATO would be a lot bigger. Would the Baltic State join? Estonia and Lithuania, but Latvia...

Without Baltic Union Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia probably would join to Nato. They are too weak fight alone against Russia if it would want take Baltia back. But this probably would make situation in Baltia very tensed if Russia then doesn't change as western democracy.
 
I doubt that the Baltic Union had that much of an effect on encouraging other political unions. They aren't that unusual, what with Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and really the increase in integrations is just a continuation of existing trends.

For example, the current "Balticisation" of Yugoslavia, Albainia and Bulgaria was something that had been on the cards for decades, but tensions between Moscow, Titograd, and Tirana kept getting in the way. Once the Warsaw pact fell apart it was only a matter of time before they started integrating.
 
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