The Leningrad Affair was a purge of Soviet politicians and public officials based in the city of Leningrad who had become heroes thanks to the siege it endured during WW2. Around 2.000 public officials lost their positions and were exiled to Siberia while the more prominent leaders, such as Nikolai Voznesensky and Alexey Kuznetsov, were executed by firing squad. One of the few survivors of the purge was Alexei Kosygin, who some posters believe could've been a potential savior of the USSR.
What if this whole ordeal doesn't happen? I've read in some posts here that most of the guys who were purged were protégés of Andrei Zhdanov, seen as Stalin's most likely successor until his death from alcoholism in 1948 at the age of 52, and that it was his early demise which allowed guys like Malenkov and Beria to convince Stalin to initiate the purge.
So let's say that either Stalin dies before 1948 or Zhdanov makes it 1953. I assume the survival of so many party officials and leaders would alter CPSU internal politics and struggles completely. Any chance for one of the men who died to become General Secretary?
What if this whole ordeal doesn't happen? I've read in some posts here that most of the guys who were purged were protégés of Andrei Zhdanov, seen as Stalin's most likely successor until his death from alcoholism in 1948 at the age of 52, and that it was his early demise which allowed guys like Malenkov and Beria to convince Stalin to initiate the purge.
So let's say that either Stalin dies before 1948 or Zhdanov makes it 1953. I assume the survival of so many party officials and leaders would alter CPSU internal politics and struggles completely. Any chance for one of the men who died to become General Secretary?
