Soso the traitor - A USSR TL

The premise of this TL is that the 1936 purges either do not take place or are stopped very early on. To make this work and centred around Stalin, the POD would need to be probably as early as 1903-4.
I don't think this is too ASB, but will have a few butterflies, so I apologise in advance.

I need to reread few things, especially regarding Stalin's activities in Baku and Tblisi and will hopefully make my first post this evening.
 
Interesting.

People usually get rid of Stalin via road accidents and unnamed snipers. Going back to the Tiflis days could be a great story.
 
(OTL) January 4th 1902, Batumi, Georgia - A fire breaks out at a warehouse belonging to the Rothschilds refinery. A party of workers fights the blaze, but are refused the promised bonus payment by the refinery manager, Francois Juene.
Djugashvilli, (Stalin), leads a deputation to the manager demanding the payment, this is again refused. Djugashvilli calls out a strike.
6 weeks later, 17th February 1902, the Rothschilds management capitulate and the workers return to work with a 30% raise to boot.
The POD, is why...


The door closed with a quiet click behind Iosip as he entered the drawing room. Although he had been to meetings with Von Stein, he had never been invited to the German's mansion on the hills above Batumi. As he gazed around he spotted the bookshelves, the inveterate reader that Iosip was devoured the titles with his eyes - Klauswitz, Darwin, Engels, yes, maybe here was a man he could do business with.

"Ah, Joseph Besovich, thank you for joining us" The German accented Russian of Von Stein floated across the room, as he neared the fireplace, Iosep noticed the second guest, the decidedly plain, plain clothes marked him for what he was instantly, "I believe you may already be aquainted with Captain Lavrov"?
"Tiflis cop, what brings you to Batumi"?
"Tiflis Okhrana if you please little Soso, it seems the world moves on where ever you go eh"? Lavrov replied, his voice calm and measured.
Without waiting, Stalin took a vacant seat. "So what's this to do with you then"
"It seems that Graf Von Stein's warehouse suffered a little accident a short while back, only it wasn't, was it"?
Stalin smiled, "you know how accidents can happen, one candle in the wrong place and poof, these old timber buildings... tut tut"
"You were right Captain, he sees the jaws of fate and laughs", Von Stein refilled his glass, "the only problem with this Joseph Besovich, is that you were seen starting the fire. And that little incovenience leaves us, all three of us, with a little problem. I have to report that the arsonist was an employee, you have to go before a judge, and the poor captain here will have to report to your poor grieving mother how you were hanged as a common criminal. Tell me captain, how is Keke these days"?
A feeling of ice ran up Stalin's spine, the threat was clear and two fold, even if by some miracle he escaped the hangman's noose, even if exile were his only punishment, the threat to his mother was all too plain.
"And so"? replied Stalin, the usual swagger gone from his voice.
"It is simple, the refinery will suffer no further serious incidents, Captain Lavrov here will be informed of any major developments and you my Georgian freind, go about your business as normal, all, of your business".
The drink, which had been fine brandy, tasted like acid in Stalin's mouth, "I must betray myself to you"? a much quietened Stalin replied, "And in return you allow me to carry on"?
"That's the deal Djugashvili, personally I couldn't care if you spent your last moments dancing on a rope, but our German freind seems to think you could be worth more than that".
"I'll do it damn you" Stalin knew he had been outmanouvered, still determined to beat the deal Stalin continued, "But nothing in writing, nothing is safe from rats".
"The we have a deal"! Von Stein noted happily, "Hmmm, won't do to have you leave empty handed, you have to take something back with you, what should that be"?
Mirthlessly Stalin laughed "Am I in a position to ask anything? 1/3 more in pay then - for all the workers. If you're going to fuck me like a whore, at least have the curtosey to pay me like one".
"I think we can handle that, you keep your new dog on a tight lead Captain, I think this one will bite if you're not careful, you may leave now Joseph Besovich, you will forget our deal at your peril".

Silently cursing, Stalin left the mansion and made his way back to the Batumi house of his residence, the strike was over, the workers had their pay deal, but he'd sold his soul to the devil in the process.
 
From here, TTL will follow the OTL, Stalin is exiled a number of times, his escapes are monitored by the Okhrana but not thwarted. Until 1909, Stalin continues to inform on his comrades to the Ohkrana. True to their word the Okhrana never recorded Djugashvili as an informant, instead refering to him as S, in their reports as an informant. From this point onwards, Stalin disappears from the Okhrana files as an informant but continues to appear in official reports under his official codename 'Milkman'.

It is suspected that the witch hunts he embarked on in Baku especially were not to root out traitors as much as keep his secret hidden, however, such is the cult of personality that existed around Stalin, even at this point, his version was never questioned.

Where this POD really takes off is with the invasion of Georgia. I need to check on a few names and dates before writing the next part.
 
"Having reviewed the reports recieved in the last five years as you have requested, the informant has been slipshod to say the least and on occasions I believe deliberately misleading. Had it not been for the timely advice given by Roman Vaslavovich, the bandit Ter-Petrossian would have escaped justice entirely, (I must confess to my surprise that this terrorist was included in the list of those pardoned, however insane he was).
Djugashvilli [the preceeding word had been crossed through, but still legible] S has honoured only the bare words of his deal with Lavrov, (it seems the provinces are the most he is capable of looking after, if that, S has run rings around him as with so many others), and so his usefulness, if it ever began is at an end.
Roman Vaslavovich is to arrange a ball for the Bolshevik terrorists in two onths time. I believe that at this point we can successfully find and remove the Georgian and his influence from the Empire. I further recommend that he is assigned an inspector of the Okhrana to maintain a constant vigil to prevent any further attempts to escape.
For your approval, I have attached a list of other known terrorists I wish to similarly have placed into the furthest reaches of exile.

I am forever your faithful servant,
Stepan Petrovich

December 21st 1912"

The remains of damning Beletsky Report. Although the original was destroyed by the Okhrana during the fall of St Petersburg, the draft copy was found in 1921 and fell into the hands of Felix Dzerzhinsky.

The history of the chase that led to it's discovery began in 1921 with the invasion of the Menshavik ruled Georgia in February 1921.

Lenin, concerned by the rise of his once trusted ally and his brutal approch to the nationalities question, privately orders Anatoli Gekker to sieze the Tiflis Okhrana HQ, now in use by the Georgian Menchavik secret police and have them searched for any references of Iosep Djugashvili, Soselo, Soso, S Seraphin or Koba, the known names of Stalin.

Feb 24th 1921 - In the fighting around Tiflis, Dmitry Zhloba's Cavalry brigade ambush a Menchavik caravan heading towards Turkey. While looting the wreckage of the caravan Zholba finds a trunk of papers, a brief examination of the papers shows that they political documents dating back to the turn of the century and are a mixture of Local Menchavik documants and pre revolution Police and Okhrana reports.
Zholba delivers these personally to Gekker and is sworn to secrecy on the matter.

Feb 27th 1921 - after reviewing the papers for signs of Stalin pre-revolution life, Gekker notes a request from the Batumi Okhrana office for information on iosep Djugashvili with a note attached advising that the information was dispatched in May 1902. Confirming this, Gekker sends two agents to infiltrate the town of Batumi ahead of the main force to secure any surviving Okhrana records.
Although the agents are behind the main force when they arrive in Batumi, they are still able to secure a significant portion of the records created and maintained by the Okhrana in Batumi. These papers, along with those from Tiflis were sent under guard back to Moscow, and under the direct order of Lenin, they were delivered personally to Felix Dzerzhinsky.

April 17th 1921 - Dzerzhinsky delivers his initial report to Lenin.
"I believe the papers delivered to me to be genuine. As such my first recommendation is that Stalin be arrested, tried and when found guilty of collaboration with anti revolutionary forces, shot out of hand. However, I understand that he has contributed much to the cause and so maybe this should be used instead to keep him in line.
I know we have disagreed on many things, including your insistance on keeping that fool Trotsky on board, but I recommend that suitably controlled, Stalin presents a better future for the Soviet Union than Trotsky and his pox riddled Leftist resistance.
You will have my full report in the next few days".

April 28th 1921 - Lenin summons Dzerzhinsky to discuss the Stalin problem. No notes are kept of the meeting itself, but Dzerzhinsky's deputy, Martin Latsis, made a comment regarding Dzerzhinsky's reaction in his diary:
"Felix was in an unhappy humour this evening, apparently he had been to a meeting with the Boss, (Lenin), who made it plain he was to lay off of some traitor he'd found. The only one I can think of that would piss Iron Felix off that much would be Trotsky. Didn't mention his name in case he bit my head off but will check the files in the morning".

No further mention of the matter appears in either Latsis' diary or official records for sometime following this meeting.
 
May 1st 1921 - Lenin begins work on the current draft of his Testament. In this he proposes directly that Stalin should not be his sucessor alone, and that Trotsky should sit as joint General Secretary of the Party.
In laying out his case he points directly to Stalin's political naivity during the pre-revolution years in failing to locate and neutralise Malinovsky, the greatest traitor the Soviet Union has known, and in his dealings with the Okhrana which led them to believe that Stalin was an agent of the Okhrana, a daring ruse but one that could have backfired disasterously had he not had the fools luck.

The testament is updated a number of times with the last revision being 23rd April 1922.
 
April 24th 1922 - Lenin hands temporary power to Trotsky and Stalin jointly for the duration of the operation to remove the bullet from his neck that had been present since the failed assasination attempt of 1918, and for a period of 7 days for his recouperation.


During the operation, a slight tremor from the doctors hand causes an artery to be severed in Lenin's neck. The revolutionary leader and figure head of the Soviet Union is dead in less than 90 seconds.

An orderly delivers the news to Dzerzhinsky, who in turn delivers the news to Lenin's wife.
In an extraordinary meeting of the Politburo, Nadezhda Krupskaya, delivers the news "after 4 incredible years, the assasins bullet has done it's job. It is however manifest in the position of the Soviet Union that although the tragedy is great, it is too late to sabotage the steps we have taken towards the democratic Union of Soviets".

A vote is passed, that until the 12th Congress of the Soviets, where the matter will be decided in full, that power will continue to be held in the current arrangement of the joint general secretaries of the party, Trotsky and Stalin.
 
... Joseph Besovich ...
It should be Iosif Vissarionovich

The testament is updated a number of times with the last revision being 23rd April 1922.
Do not overrate the testament.
In 1921 Trotsky was the war-mongering revolutionary who jumped on the bolshevik ship when revolution was triggered, while Stalin was the calm, solid, cool-headed competent fellow representing moderation and stability
 
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The bastardisation of his name I blame on an over confident German trying to play one upmanship and my sloppy memory.

OTL, Trotsky was one of those that suppressed Lenin's testament, ITTL, he'll support it in order to make a grab for sole power. As you say though, it's not to be over rated which will be the mistake that Trotsky makes.
 
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