After a series of PMs with anon, the next era in Soviet politics is born!
June 22, 1947: Mikhail Kalinin releases a tract, On the Failures of the Politburo, blasting Bukharin, Zinoviev, and several other Soviet leaders for their "bourgeois party-politics", as he calls them. On the other hand, he lauds Viktorov, Tukhachevsky, Rykov, Kirov, and even the ousted Kamenev for their commitment to the cause of communism, and even recommends in the style of Lenin that Rykov replace him on his death. Only thirty days later, he will die of heart failure and will be replaced as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee by Alexei Rykov.
August 3, 1950--January 1, 1951: In the dust of the Second Polish-Soviet War, the Second Quadrumvirate emerges after an internal coup is carried out by the "Kamenevists", a group consisting of Mikhail Tukhachevsky(he having by now divorced himself from military concerns), Sergei Kirov, Mikhail Viktorov, and the aging Alexei Rykov. Kirov, as People's Commissar of Justice, launches far-reaching corruption trials in the NKVD, Zinoviev's pet project. Though neither Zinoviev and Bukharin are tried, their names are blackened by certain implications made by witnesses. By October, Zinoviev announces his retirement, quickly followed by Bukharin. Bukharin will later leave the USSR for the Balkan Federal State, where he will become a close adviser of Josip Broz Tito. Zinoviev, meanwhile, will retire to a country home in the Ukraine, where he will die in 1955. Kirov takes over Bukharin's post at General Secretary, while Tukhachevsky takes over Kirov's as People's Commissar for Justice. Tukhachevsky uses the attack on the NKVD to take authority over criminal affairs away from the NKVD, aided by Rykov. He creates the Commissariat of Justice's own police force, known as the "Blue Archangels" for their blue uniforms and nigh-fanatic nature. Viktorov takes over the NKVD, while the People's Commissar of Defense Affairs position is filled by Nikolay Shvernik, a supporter of Kirov. Kirov uses his new position as General Secretary to oust Bukharin and Zinoviev's supporters, and his own enemies, from the Party. The Second Quadrumvirate's control over the nation is much firmer than their predecessors'. As well, one of Kirov's first acts is to quietly welcome Kamenev back into the Party, though not as a member of the Politburo. Despite his ability to take over the party, Kirov is remarkably loyal to his fellow quadrums, and does not work to undermine their positions. Tukhachevsky, however, quietly uses his position as People's Commissar for Justice to undermine first Rykov's base of supporters by arresting and detaining them for faked crimes, then Viktorov's base by siphoning authority away from the police (who were grouped under the NKVD banner) and giving it to his own Ministry of Justice gendarmes.
June 22, 1947: Mikhail Kalinin releases a tract, On the Failures of the Politburo, blasting Bukharin, Zinoviev, and several other Soviet leaders for their "bourgeois party-politics", as he calls them. On the other hand, he lauds Viktorov, Tukhachevsky, Rykov, Kirov, and even the ousted Kamenev for their commitment to the cause of communism, and even recommends in the style of Lenin that Rykov replace him on his death. Only thirty days later, he will die of heart failure and will be replaced as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee by Alexei Rykov.
August 3, 1950--January 1, 1951: In the dust of the Second Polish-Soviet War, the Second Quadrumvirate emerges after an internal coup is carried out by the "Kamenevists", a group consisting of Mikhail Tukhachevsky(he having by now divorced himself from military concerns), Sergei Kirov, Mikhail Viktorov, and the aging Alexei Rykov. Kirov, as People's Commissar of Justice, launches far-reaching corruption trials in the NKVD, Zinoviev's pet project. Though neither Zinoviev and Bukharin are tried, their names are blackened by certain implications made by witnesses. By October, Zinoviev announces his retirement, quickly followed by Bukharin. Bukharin will later leave the USSR for the Balkan Federal State, where he will become a close adviser of Josip Broz Tito. Zinoviev, meanwhile, will retire to a country home in the Ukraine, where he will die in 1955. Kirov takes over Bukharin's post at General Secretary, while Tukhachevsky takes over Kirov's as People's Commissar for Justice. Tukhachevsky uses the attack on the NKVD to take authority over criminal affairs away from the NKVD, aided by Rykov. He creates the Commissariat of Justice's own police force, known as the "Blue Archangels" for their blue uniforms and nigh-fanatic nature. Viktorov takes over the NKVD, while the People's Commissar of Defense Affairs position is filled by Nikolay Shvernik, a supporter of Kirov. Kirov uses his new position as General Secretary to oust Bukharin and Zinoviev's supporters, and his own enemies, from the Party. The Second Quadrumvirate's control over the nation is much firmer than their predecessors'. As well, one of Kirov's first acts is to quietly welcome Kamenev back into the Party, though not as a member of the Politburo. Despite his ability to take over the party, Kirov is remarkably loyal to his fellow quadrums, and does not work to undermine their positions. Tukhachevsky, however, quietly uses his position as People's Commissar for Justice to undermine first Rykov's base of supporters by arresting and detaining them for faked crimes, then Viktorov's base by siphoning authority away from the police (who were grouped under the NKVD banner) and giving it to his own Ministry of Justice gendarmes.
It was just getting into some really cool situations.