More likely for kept Russian Alaska

If we assume Russia keeps Alaska until 1917, and let's just say ASBs create a space-time bubble around it so there are no butterflies. Is it more likely we'll see a Communist Alaska, or a White holdout and why?
 
If we assume Russia keeps Alaska until 1917, and let's just say ASBs create a space-time bubble around it so there are no butterflies. Is it more likely we'll see a Communist Alaska, or a White holdout and why?

Well assuming neither Canada or the US take advantage and annex it, I would say White Alaska. The US isn't gonna want a communist nation bordering them and neither would the British/Canadians.
 
It depends on the people who settle Russian Alaska, and under what circumstances. Is there a gold rush? Alaska might be pretty much self-governing, due to the vast distance, leading to a very limited sense of loyality to the Tsar. If Alaska is populated by poor miners and fisherman, they may well pick the Reds over the Whites. Especially if the distance also means that they aren't subjegated to all sorts of ideological purges.

On the other hand, the Russian Far East IOTL became a holdout for the Whites. That was mostly because it was the last place where they could flee to after the Reds began winning, however. Would crossing the pacific and fleeing to Alaska be a viable option for the Whites? If so, you'd likely get White Alaska.

So, basically, it can go both ways.

The US isn't gonna want a communist nation bordering them and neither would the British/Canadians.

Keep in mind that the USSR wasn't really considered 'the enemy' until the end of WWII. If the Reds manage to get entrenched in Alaska early on, the USA and Britain/Canada are going to be cautious, but it doesn't mean they'll invade and annex. They'll want to do that come the 1950s, but by then it may be too late. Stalin will see it coming, and bolster the Alaskan defences. On the other hand, it will be one more reason for the Americans to decide they really have to destroy the USSR before Stalin gets atomic weapons.

So... Red Alaska might very well mean WWIII following WWII pretty closely (several American generals, including Patton, MacArthur and LeMay wanted this, seeking to eliminate the USSR before they went nuclear).
 
Keep in mind that the USSR wasn't really considered 'the enemy' until the end of WWII.

Not necessarily; remember, right after the first world war, the Allied powers (including Britain and America) intervened in the civil war, wanting to establish a white government in Russia in opposition to the Bolsheviks. Now, if everything happens per OTL with Russia still holding onto Alaska, the American or British forces would most likely take the opportunity to occupy Alaska whilst the allied intervention in Russia was occurring, and keep a hold onto it (at least until the fighting is over, then they may hand it back to the soviet government in Moscow, but don't bet on it).
 
Not necessarily; remember, right after the first world war, the Allied powers (including Britain and America) intervened in the civil war, wanting to establish a white government in Russia in opposition to the Bolsheviks. Now, if everything happens per OTL with Russia still holding onto Alaska, the American or British forces would most likely take the opportunity to occupy Alaska whilst the allied intervention in Russia was occurring, and keep a hold onto it (at least until the fighting is over, then they may hand it back to the soviet government in Moscow, but don't bet on it).

I didn't know the anti-Bolshevik sentiments were actually that fervent, but reading up on it now, I completely see your point. Which utterly negates my whole "Red Alaska"-speculation. Too bad; it would probably have made an interesting TL (albeit a horrible one to live in... WWIII...)

Anyway, there's still the possibility of a White Alaska, if it is plausible for the Whites to flee to Alaska when they start losing the Civil War. Might Britain and/or the USA aid them in that effort?
 
Russia sold Alaska to avoid it being taken by force or default. Thus, it's not all that likely that Russia will keep the area, though there are several potentially interesting outcomes for it. A Communist Alaska, Russian or otherwise (except as part of a Red U.S. or Red Canada) is ASB without a stronger underlying Red position in Russia initially, which *might* be doable by the early twentieth century with an 1860's POD.
 
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