What if Dictator (Censored) Glorious Comrade Josef Stalin led a healthier lifestyle and perhaps lived past 1953 and ruled the Soviets for another 20 years. How would he control everything, and how could he lengthen the Soviet Union's lifespan?
He was 74 when he died. Another 20 years is really pushing it in terms of life expectancy.
If we assume that Stalin was gearing up for a second great purge, and he probably was, we can assume all of the old guard and probably a lot of the new elite to go. An ironic side effect of this will be that people like Brezhnev will be promoted into positions of power much sooner, possibly speeding up stagnation. Stalin can speed up or slow down the purge without direct involvement by revving up the propaganda one way or another, it's not too far off how it was done in the 1930s.
Molotov, Kaganovich, and Mikoyan are all definitely dead. In fact, Stalin was actually clearing the way for Khrushchev and Malenkov, so they'll survive a bit longer. Beria will probably stick around a bit longer too since he's very good at his job and Stalin knows that he can control him.Molotov and Mikoyan were all but gone and probably Malenkov as well. Molotov in particular had been in disfavor for a while was probably lucky to have made it as far as March 5, 1953. In OTL doing so bought him another 33 1/2 years.
Hard to see Stalin stopping at those three. Likeliest most of the Politburo was going to be offed. Kaganovich, Khrushchev, Bulganin...
The question then is what becomes of Mikhail Suslov. If Suslov is caught up in the purge, then there is likely no Andropov or Gorbachev after the old man dies in the 70s.
Also, would any new purges reach the army? Zhukov wasn't in particularly good standing as of March, 1953.
Stalin probably wouldn't kill off Mao because he knows he can control him. At the most, we would probably see some sort of Sino-Soviet split after Stalin's death, since at that point China's probably itching to take charge of its own destiny and pull it out of the Kremlin.One interesting consequence would be Stalin's approach to more autonomous communist leaders in Korea or China. Stalin tried to assassinate Tito several times IOTL. Probably the same should happen to Mao. Or to other non-Soviet leaders. Maybe we'll see even a new great Purge with an international scale.
All in all, whereas Stalin was more subtle than Chrushtshev, I'd say he was more determined as well. Just an example: If the uprisings in Hungary 1956 and the GDR 1953 happen as IOTL, how would Stalin react?
Suslov, like Brezhnev, was promoted as part of the expanded Politburo Stalin had cooked up in 1952 (? maybe earlier?). Some have suggested that Stalin had been sufficiently put off by the interuption of party/state business during the Great Purge that he might have been trying to have the backup plan already in place when it all started again.Brian Roastbeef said:The question then is what becomes of Mikhail Suslov. If Suslov is caught up in the purge, then there is likely no Andropov or Gorbachev after the old man dies in the 70s.
Good question. Stalin had much to fear from the military and certainly had his enemies in the upper ranks, but at the same time he was more dependent on it than ever. Even beyond practical concerns, the army was part of his created image as the leader of WWII. Rokossovsky might be another target, since he had actually been locked up during the Great Purge, then re-habilitated for WWII.Also, would any new purges reach the army? Zhukov wasn't in particularly good standing as of March, 1953.
Wolfpaw said:Beria will probably stick around a bit longer too since he's very good at his job and Stalin knows that he can control him.
If there are uprisings in Germany or Hungary (highly unlikely without Stalin's death and the Secret Speech/de-Stalinization, respectively), they are going to be crushed. And I don't mean 1950s crushed; I mean scorched earth Soviet-style crushed.
He was 74 when he died. Another 20 years is really pushing it in terms of life expectancy.
Stalin had a number of health problems throughout his life, which is usually not a good indicator for longevity. Also both of your examples involve people in semi or full retirement. Stalin on the other hand for this ATL is to be in power for the whole thing. It's been noted by many that Stalin aged considerably in the 1940s, to highlight the physical stress of office.Molotov lived to age 96 and Kaganovich lived to be98