Stalin had the ability to find Zhukov, recognize his abilities, and put him in charge. He didn't however take decisive action until it was almost too late, and this delayed response cost Russia dearly. Plus his purges had deeply weakened the armed forces.
What does a leader of the USSR who had a successful military career himself do to the success of Barbarossa? Obviously the political situation and hence starting point will look considerably different: the COMINTERN will not restrain itself from trying to push a revolution, but will definitely have opposed the Nazis all the way through, perhaps strengthening them in the west. The big question is the starting point for Barbarossa: invading from the east as the Nazis go in from the West is unlikely to be Trotsky's thing given his focus on revolution in the core capitalist countries over success in Russia, and such an act would only hurt the movement. OTOH a dirty trick where the Poles flee into what the Germans think is conquered territory and the Russians suddenly gain a large number of troops might appeal, but is very unlikely to work given the trust required.
Obviously this POD is far back enough that a number of political events will have been butterflied, but we know exactly what Trotsky would have done in the situations because he told us (at length!). The military side is more obscure.
So now the main course: how much better does Russia do this time?
What does a leader of the USSR who had a successful military career himself do to the success of Barbarossa? Obviously the political situation and hence starting point will look considerably different: the COMINTERN will not restrain itself from trying to push a revolution, but will definitely have opposed the Nazis all the way through, perhaps strengthening them in the west. The big question is the starting point for Barbarossa: invading from the east as the Nazis go in from the West is unlikely to be Trotsky's thing given his focus on revolution in the core capitalist countries over success in Russia, and such an act would only hurt the movement. OTOH a dirty trick where the Poles flee into what the Germans think is conquered territory and the Russians suddenly gain a large number of troops might appeal, but is very unlikely to work given the trust required.
Obviously this POD is far back enough that a number of political events will have been butterflied, but we know exactly what Trotsky would have done in the situations because he told us (at length!). The military side is more obscure.
So now the main course: how much better does Russia do this time?