Roadism: A collaborative TL

1927: Joseph Stalin becomes leader of the USSR. He proposes a new form of communism called Roadism, where the state exists only to build roads. The USSR becomes the USRR (Union of Socialist Roadist Republics) and Stalin proclaims that the state will be neutral, unless they need to defend themselves.
 
1927: Joseph Stalin becomes leader of the USSR. He proposes a new form of communism called Roadism, where the state exists only to build roads. The USSR becomes the USRR (Union of Socialist Roadist Republics) and Stalin proclaims that the state will be neutral, unless they need to defend themselves.

January 1, 1932: Ivan Likhachov is named as a possible successor to Joseph Stalin at Maxim Gorky, initiating the launch of the "Great Leap Forward",....

November 6, 1944: Chairman Ivan Likhachov launches the GAZ-M20 "Pobeda" (Victory) in the launch of the Eastern Offensive into Central Europe,....

February 25, 1956: Chairman Ivan Likhachov dies under mysterious circumstances in Moscow, fueling a fight for political succession amongst Roadist leaders,...
 
The early Roadist state was fraught with tension and dissent. The main issue which resulted in a dozen small schisms, was whether the vehicle should be driven on the left or right side of the road. Naturally the public tended to the right side (called "right-wing" by its proponents after the technical term for early cars' sweeping fenders) due to it having been that way for decades for horse drawn carriages and cars. However students, philosophers, and some politicians began to come out with ideas that many considered...subversive. Disparate were included in the term: left-wing, or leftist. It started simply with the suggestion that cars should be driven on the left side of the road, but it soon spiraled out of control. Riots were hard to control, and numerous crashes were caused by hardcore leftists driving fast on the left side of the road with complete disregard for the law of the land. After a decade of trouble, Stalin put his foot down. Between 1936 and 1938 he conducted the Great Purge, or Great Terror, with the arrest, execution, gulag-ing, and deportation of hundreds of great leftist thinkers.
 
Here are the ministers and generals purged:

February 25, 1936: Sergo Ordzhonikidze is purged for lacking "revolutionary fervor" by Stalin in Moscow, fueling political divisions,..

August 23, 1937: Valery Mezhlauk is purged for lacking "revolutionary fervor" by Stalin in Moscow, fueling political divisions,..

January 24, 1938: Lazar Kaganovich is purged for lacking "revolutionary fervor" by Stalin in Moscow, fueling political divisions,..

April 18, 1950: Stepan Akopov is purged by Joseph Stalin as one of the first post-war Roadist purges, amidst reports of poor health,...

March 15, 1953: Ivan Khlamov is the final minister purged by Joseph Stalin in one of his final actions, shortly before dying in Moscow

July 17, 1953: Chairman Likhachov purges Vyacheslav Malyshev, for lacking "revolutionary fervor " in Moscow, amidst rumors of a coup attempt,...
 
Here are a few PODs to flag that the belief stretches into the modern day:

September 15-27, 1959: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev drives from Washington D.C. to Chicago to Los Angeles, California, in an effort to promote "Roadism", sparking international attention and development...

January 20, 1961: The Whole Truth (CBS-TV) documentary by Rod Serling, President John F. Kennedy and Harvey Hunnicut, reveals a "secret speech" about the failures of "Soviet Roadism",...

May 21, 1971: Aleksey German along with Rolan Bykov, Anatoly Solonitsyn, and Vladimir Zaminsky warn of the rise of "politsais" (police with local collaborators) emerging outside of the major cities, sparking international attention and concern,...

April 24, 1978: perennial Democratic Party presidential candidate Lyndon Larouche (D-NH) calls for the construction of a Bering Strait Bridge, to link the Soviet Union and United States along the Bering Strait, sparking international attention,...

October 12, 1986: Aleksey German along with Rolan Bykov, Anatoly Solonitsyn, and Vladimir Zaminsky report the national rise of "politsais" (police with local collaborators), after15 years in political exile, sparking international attention,....

September 15, 1989: "Night Wolves" motorcycle unit led by Alexander Zaldostanov (a.k.a. "The Surgeon") comes to power in Moscow, amidst growing political tensions regarding the rise of "politsais" in Moscow,....

March 6, 2008: "Stritreysery" (e.g. "Street Racers") illegal movement is established by Oleg Fesenko in Moscow, sparking international attention and concern,...

September 1, 2011: Soviet officials in Moscow, launch a national crackdown on "Bombili" (gypsy cabs), citing them as an "existential threat to Soviet Roadism", sparking international attention,...

October 24, 2018: Activist Oleg Shilkin is killed in Moscow, after protesting the brutal nature of "Soviet Roadism", sparking international protests against the government,...
 
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Kruschev orders construction of "Roadtowns", designed to house work crews in accordance with Roadist principles. Families will enjoy 20x20 two story apartment of sturdy concrete, complete with window rack for airing out mattresses.

Roadtown_Sketch.jpg


In the eastern republics, a special "Road Warrior" military division is organized, to escort fuel tankers through areas prone to bandits and counterrevolutionaries.

♬ Bound for the East, trucks and weapons loaded.
We shall do what they say can't be done.
We have a long way to go, and much fuel to deliver.
Bound for the East,
just watch those bandits run!
 
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OOC: How would WWII fit into this? I know Stalin announced neutrality TTL but it’s a safe bet the conditions for Hitler’s rise to power next door in Germany were brewing by 1927, and that crazy asshole had a major hate-boner for the USSR. Come 1941, all this road-building could need to go on the back burner.

Also, possible plot twist - the roads are the Soviets’ undoing, as they give the Nazis an easy path to Moscow. Doesn’t mean they keep it or that things don’t go to hell for the Nazis later, but it could be bad news for them.

(I also looked - “roadism” isn’t a thing OTL.)
 
OOC: How would WWII fit into this? I know Stalin announced neutrality TTL but it’s a safe bet the conditions for Hitler’s rise to power next door in Germany were brewing by 1927, and that crazy asshole had a major hate-boner for the USSR. Come 1941, all this road-building could need to go on the back burner.

Also, possible plot twist - the roads are the Soviets’ undoing, as they give the Nazis an easy path to Moscow. Doesn’t mean they keep it or that things don’t go to hell for the Nazis later, but it could be bad news for them.

(I also looked - “roadism” isn’t a thing OTL.)
Consider that initially the German Autobahn was started in 1932, backed by Konrad Adenauer, who would later lead Communist East Germany. As such, consider that this helps support the idea that Stalin creates his own worst enemy with the construction of the Autobahn, connecting Germany and Russia by 1941....
 
Kruschev orders construction of "Roadtowns", designed to house work crews in accordance with Roadist principles. Families will enjoy 20x20 two story apartment of sturdy concrete, complete with window rack for airing out mattresses.

Roadtown_Sketch.jpg


In the eastern republics, a special "Road Warrior" military division is organized, to escort fuel tankers through areas prone to bandits and counterrevolutionaries.

♬ Bound for the East, trucks and weapons loaded.
We shall do what they say can't be done.
We have a long way to go, and much fuel to deliver.
Bound for the East,
just watch those bandits run!
This can certainly happen starting in 1954, with Stalin's death, and consider that a road connection with China in the 1950s/1960s, would be presented as the "reconstruction of the Silk Road",....
 
I hope the USSR doesn't fall. I'm opposed to Commute-nism, but after the fall the country would look like the Road Warrior.
Well , let's not get taken for a ride with this set PODs...😊

In the meantime, definitely put together some dates and names together. It should be an interesting ride...
 
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