The Iron Eagle - The History of the Cold War
- Thread starter Kaiser of Brazil
- Start date
Central Asia IS a part of the Empire and Loyal to the Tsar, at least ever since Hess gave the Wilhelmine diplomacy approach to the sensitivities of the Muslim peoples by letting out his full disgust on growing up in Alexandria and praising Imperialism harder than Winston Churchill.
Life conditions? They are not really good, nowhere in Russia is really good with a few exceptions such as Vladivostok which is the gateway for the outside world in many ways. There were improvements, mainly in the form of railroads and a few rare highways, but they mostly have military concerns in mind which means countering possible Chinese attacks from Xinjiang or German assaults on West Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea. Overall it isn't that much different except for several refugee groups being spread out and resettled.
Honestly it seems that they should be much worse considering how bad the Soviets mismanaged the area OTL. That is before we get into the massive wave of refugees that will likely go to Central Asia since its already developed compared to Siberia where one actually has to build the infrastructure first and then settle it.
Not sure how this should make them loyal., unless you mean that the Germans would like to conquer them. Even then one would think the Muslims would rebel and make their own state instead, since they can still be anti-German no matter what.
Are countries like the U.S., Britain, Canada and Australia taking in Slavic refugees? I imagine that diaspora communities like the Poles in the Midwest or Ukrainians in the Canadian Prairies would want to aid their coethnics in escaping Nazi rule.
Actually after actually reading some of the timeline I am really surprised that Central Asia is not independent. It just seems something they would do considering how much they suffered under the Soviets and how they just saw them lose against the Germans. There is not much making them believe that the Tsar would be better than the Soviets and since the famine did happen one would think they would have more of a reason to rebel if for no other reason than to keep their food. It would also be much easier for them to get weapons considering they can at least get them from the south from Iran, Afghanistan and so on.
None the less this is your timeline so do what you wish.
None the less this is your timeline so do what you wish.
Brylyth
Banned
Could be it would be harder to get their hands on it without help from Russia to ferry stuff from Vladivostok to them.
It could also be they want to be independent, but after Stalin's hell and the whole 2nd Civil War they are tired and buying their time. There are some other advantages to staying loyal such as the road and railroad network being fully integrated and compatible, economic help and development, protection from possible enemies like Mao or even one of the - stans turning on the other and such.
It could also be they want to be independent, but after Stalin's hell and the whole 2nd Civil War they are tired and buying their time. There are some other advantages to staying loyal such as the road and railroad network being fully integrated and compatible, economic help and development, protection from possible enemies like Mao or even one of the - stans turning on the other and such.
Depends, if McCarthy was elected and the Soviets won, you would not see the US giving support like it is being given to the Tsar. As for Central Asia comes in logistics, due to what's happening in the Middle East and China, the only way to access the region is through India and Afghanistan, the latter isn't exactly known to have a convenient geography.
Considering also how the Germans treat the Azeris, Chechens and other peoples of the Caucasus, nobody wants to risk splintering and becoming the next target.
There were local rebellions, they were not considered major factions but in general the White Armies were able to crush these groups with the support of the US and Patton's expeditionary force (Patton himself would know well about hit and run guerrilla tactics after his experiences with Pancho Villa and the Pacific War).
And no, Iran is not available. The Pahlavis are not friendly towards American Interests. Hess despises Pan Arabism, Iran is a natural ally against it when combined with Syria. Even a broken clock can strike right twice.
Tajikistan would seem like a natural target since they're closely related to the Iranians.
EDIT: Stupid me, they don't even border each other.
Considering the massive migration into Siberia happening in this timeline as well as Central Asia's proximity to the new Russian heartland it would make a lot of sense for this region to become quite integrated into Russia Proper. Unless the infrastructure doesn't support this or something? I don't really know much about Central Asia in this time period, but I do know that it wasn't very populous and can infer that ethnic Russians could end up making up a huge proportion of Central Asians in this timeline, maybe even becoming a majority in some places. Perhaps the birthrates of native Central Asians could reverse this trend eventually, or perhaps Russians leaving the region on mass in a hypothetical reconquest of European Russia? I am curious of how Russian birthrates would look as well. While they aren't communist, which usually leads to a huge drop off in birthrates, they still have the legacy of communism and are deeply scarred by the horrors visited upon them in WW2. Personally I would guess that their birthrates would be quite small as it would be a quite a sad and hopeless time to be a Russian. Then again when large, empty regions are settled in mass like this it can lead to very large families like with the US's own westward expansion.
The Russian State will want as many people as they can get, so they're likely going to be extremely pro-natalist. In addition, a massive religious revival is highly possible IMO, as the atheistic Communist experiment was a complete and utter disaster that led to the ruin of their country and loss of most of their homeland. The Orthodox Church would certainly encourage big families, and I expect Russia to become a very religious country in at least the first few decades after the war and the Tsarist restoration. Either that or Russia will become nihilistic and unable to believe in anything, like OTL's post-Soviet Russia but to a much greater degree.
They did use the collapse to capture the Kopet Mountains, with places such as modern day Ashgabad. The problem is that I am both terrible at maps and an Iran chapter was not written yet. But the US cannot access Central Asia and neither would they support separatist movements against a government they literally put in power for sake of a far more vulnerable state [If Russia would already have a tough time to stop the Germans, a country like Uzbekstan would not stand a chance if the Germans desired to spread their influence beyond the Caspian sea.
Uniting all the Central Asian States, including the ethical mess caused by Stalin's deportations and western refugees, would make for a very tenuous country. It's a little like Yugoslavia if you added some pseudo-clan politics, nomadic tribes wandering the region, a precarious infrastructure, and the fact they would still be surrounded by enemies such as China, Iran, Russia and Germany. It would be a state that would have to be kept together by force and that is not a feasible idea when it also needs force to protect itself from foreign incursions. Who's to say Mao wouldn't want to claim the old Qing borders in Kyrgyzstan or support a return of local Soviet rulers in order to control the lands between the Himalayas and the Caspian Sea? Or that the Germans and Iranians wouldn't want to secure a way to strike the Russians by bypassing the Urals?
The problem of how the US (which is still not as influential as it was in OTL 50s under Long) could even manage to get substantial help to a country surrounded by either hostile terrain or hostile nations is still existing. Long is already an isolationist who is reluctantly starting to ramp up support to existing allies, he is not interested at all in propping up new nations with American resources. The man has not even created the CIA!