Twilight of the Red Tsar
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Justice being a fancy term for the man "throwing himself in front of that bus", and totally not related to that group of angry Lithuanian Expats surrounding him beforehand?
A excerpt from Brazil: the torch of populism by Fernando Nogueira
1960 was the election year in Brazil, Juscelino's government had won over the minds and the hearts of the brazilian people as Getulio Vargas did before, and it was expected for the PTB-PSD coalition candidate Teixeira Lott to be the favorite for the election, against Jânio Quadros from the PTN-UDN coalition, Adhemar de Barros from the PSP and finally Plínio Salgado from the PRP¹, but one thing flipped the situation, Jânio Quadros Jingle, "Varre varre vassourinha"; his catchy jingle exploded all over the media, from the television to the radio, in schools, bars, even in stadiums people were singing to his song, and this gave him a massive boost...""...that was also the first televisioned election in brazilian history, and again Jânio Quadros propaganda prevailed over it's adversaries, the 0:24 second commercial showing a family that decided to vote for Jânio to fight inflation and corruption gave him a massive advantage, Jânio also tried to appeal to the people by acting like them, he always had his hair unkept, spoke in a very simple portuguese and didn't used his suit correctly², and his propaganda almost garanteed himself the victory..."
"...Three months before the election, in august, Lott campaign team decided to use a ace in the hole, the party sent a letter asking for the 78 year old former president, Getulio Vargas, that was living in his state on São Borja to take part on the campaign to help Teixeira Lott, to which he replied positively...""...In September 3 Getúlio Vargas meeted Juscelino Kubitschek and Teixeira Lott in the capital, under heavy protests from the opposition for "fool play" and "pulling a unfair political stunt", they were received by 200 thousand people that travelled from the entire country to see them, the event was covered by almost the entire brazilian media (albeit the opposition media that boicotted it), the event was filled with brazilian flags, bands and received help from the local trade unions, at the end of the day Getúlio and Juscelino made a speech asking support for Lott, and promissed that him would continue their good work, and a gland applause followed...""...This move made Jânio and Adhemar bleed votes for Lott, and the elections proceeded and happened on october 3 as planned,"
Results of the Brazilian 1960 presidential election
Teixeira Lott
Won in 12 states + DC
4,374,624 votes
Jânio Quadros
Won in 12 states
3,113,567 votes
Plínio Salgado
Didn't won in any state
1,274,632 votes
Adhemar de Barros
Won in 1 state
1,134,752 votes
¹Another PoD, in OTL Plínio Salgado decided to not run because he had won only 8% of the votes in 1955, so he decided it would be better to support Jânio against Lott, but in this timeline he ran since his never ending hatred towards communism and the discover of the soviet holocaust made him try again, and had similar results as '55
²Jânio is seem even today as one of the worst examples of demagogical populism, he resigned only 7 months after being elected and he was know for sending threads to his political opponents
³Jânio's Jingle here, this song as almost imprinted on Brazilian history
1960 was the election year in Brazil, Juscelino's government had won over the minds and the hearts of the brazilian people as Getulio Vargas did before, and it was expected for the PTB-PSD coalition candidate Teixeira Lott to be the favorite for the election, against Jânio Quadros from the PTN-UDN coalition, Adhemar de Barros from the PSP and finally Plínio Salgado from the PRP¹, but one thing flipped the situation, Jânio Quadros Jingle, "Varre varre vassourinha"; his catchy jingle exploded all over the media, from the television to the radio, in schools, bars, even in stadiums people were singing to his song, and this gave him a massive boost...""...that was also the first televisioned election in brazilian history, and again Jânio Quadros propaganda prevailed over it's adversaries, the 0:24 second commercial showing a family that decided to vote for Jânio to fight inflation and corruption gave him a massive advantage, Jânio also tried to appeal to the people by acting like them, he always had his hair unkept, spoke in a very simple portuguese and didn't used his suit correctly², and his propaganda almost garanteed himself the victory..."
"...Three months before the election, in august, Lott campaign team decided to use a ace in the hole, the party sent a letter asking for the 78 year old former president, Getulio Vargas, that was living in his state on São Borja to take part on the campaign to help Teixeira Lott, to which he replied positively...""...In September 3 Getúlio Vargas meeted Juscelino Kubitschek and Teixeira Lott in the capital, under heavy protests from the opposition for "fool play" and "pulling a unfair political stunt", they were received by 200 thousand people that travelled from the entire country to see them, the event was covered by almost the entire brazilian media (albeit the opposition media that boicotted it), the event was filled with brazilian flags, bands and received help from the local trade unions, at the end of the day Getúlio and Juscelino made a speech asking support for Lott, and promissed that him would continue their good work, and a gland applause followed...""...This move made Jânio and Adhemar bleed votes for Lott, and the elections proceeded and happened on october 3 as planned,"
Results of the Brazilian 1960 presidential election
Teixeira Lott
Won in 12 states + DC
4,374,624 votes
Jânio Quadros
Won in 12 states
3,113,567 votes
Plínio Salgado
Didn't won in any state
1,274,632 votes
Adhemar de Barros
Won in 1 state
1,134,752 votes
¹Another PoD, in OTL Plínio Salgado decided to not run because he had won only 8% of the votes in 1955, so he decided it would be better to support Jânio against Lott, but in this timeline he ran since his never ending hatred towards communism and the discover of the soviet holocaust made him try again, and had similar results as '55
²Jânio is seem even today as one of the worst examples of demagogical populism, he resigned only 7 months after being elected and he was know for sending threads to his political opponents
³Jânio's Jingle here, this song as almost imprinted on Brazilian history
Wonder if Chuikov will lead Soviet forces in a second battle of Stalingrad during the Civil war if the rebels make it that far unless Chuikov was purged by Stalin at some point, I don't remember.
There's not a lot of inspiring Stalin quotes to rally people to vote for this TL. So I guess: a million is a statistic, but a million votes is one hell of a statistic. Vote Twilight of the Red Tsar for a Turtledove.
I prefer the classic.
Vote for Twilight, or go to Gulag.*
*Warning, may go to Gulag even if voting for Twilight.
The Wall Falls
The Wall Falls
Excerpt from The Eastern Bloc in Revolt by Wladyslaw Immenski
The August Revolution meant the end of the Soviet empire and the Eastern Bloc. When news of the revolution reached Eastern Europe Soviet soldiers turned on each other. Most of the soldiers, exhausted by years of war and swept up in the tide of freedom, joined the rebels, but a significant minority stayed with the Soviet Army. For about a week both sides fought in bloody, fratricidal battles before being called home by their respective sides. The retreats were a disorganized affair, with units more or less falling apart as they moved through hostile territory. The soldiers still took every opportunity to attack each other, and due to supply issues they were forced to raid local villages as they retreated. Still by September 12th there were no more Russian troops in Eastern Europe. With the Soviet Army no longer there the governments of the Eastern Bloc faced their doom. There were several different reactions to this. The governments of Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia attempted to negotiate with their rebels, only to be informed that the rebels demanded their unconditional surrender. In Hungary, East Germany and Poland top government officials fled with the remnants of the Soviet Army. Only Romania chose to fight on, with General Secretary Nicolae Ceausescu declaring “The forces of history are on our side. Socialism will triumph.” Four days later, on September 16th, Bucharest fell and Ceausescu and his wife Elena were summarily executed.
Across Eastern Europe the fall of Communism was a time of great joy. On September 12th tens of thousands of Germans, both East and West, gathered at the Berlin Wall. They came with sledgehammers, power tools, and even explosive with one purpose: to knock the Wall down. In the following weeks vast sections of the Berlin Wall were taken down, and East and West Germans mingled to together. British rock band The Who even came to the Wall, performing their famous “Berlin Concert” on top of its remnants. In other parts of the Eastern Bloc the celebration was no less joyous. In Poland over 500,000 people gathered in the streets of Warsaw to witness a parade of several thousand resistance fighters, while in the Czechoslovak Federation[1] a similarly sized crowd turned out to see the Stalin Monument demolished and a new “Freedom and Sacrifice” Monument constructed in its place. In Hungary Budapest police were forced to stop arresting revelers who had passed out drunk, the city drunk tanks being too full.
Excerpt from Hungary’s Syndicalist Revolution by Joseph Jones
In every case except one the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe led to democracy. That one exception is Hungary. Instead the Syndicalists, by far the most powerful rebel faction, used their power and control over Budapest to recreate the state in their image. As Hungarian Workers’ Union Secretary General Imre Nagy said “We have now the opportunity to bring about the first successful workers’ revolution in Europe.” From the perspective of a revolutionary Hungary was a golden opportunity. The years of war had destroyed much of the country, the non-syndicalist movements either passively accepted the new agenda or were too weak to make a difference, and the people were ready. Much like their comrades in Cuba the Hungarian Syndicalists quickly turned all industries over to workers, banned all political parties, and set up an umbrella union (the Hungarian Workers’ Union) to manage the country. There was really only one coercive law: to help rebuild Hungary all workers had to contribute a certain amount of labor hours to helping repair the country. While not popular the law saw results: within two years Hungary was about where it was before the rebellion.
The international community, particularly the US, was stumped about what to do about Hungary. On the one hand Hungary was a revolutionary left-wing government, and there were fears that it would spread across Eastern Europe. On the other hand, Hungary was clearly not a Soviet puppet state. However, Hungary did refuse to join the EDC and NATO, and almost immediately began working with Raul Castro’s regime in Cuba (for example after 1970 most of the surplus grain grown in Hungary was exported to Cuba). However, Hungary did desire to access the long-inaccessible Western markets, and was afraid of the possibly of an invasion. As such Nagy took the lead on carving out a path which later became known as “Switzerlandization.” In exchange for the maintenance of trade and peace Hungary agreed not to export the revolution abroad and to remain neutral in any conflicts on the European continent. While some Syndicalists denounced this as a betrayal of their founding ideals it did keep Hungarian syndicalism going up to the present day.
Excerpt from Reunification by Ed Morrell
The biggest problem in international politics in 1967-68 was what to do with Germany. For many Europeans the answer was simple: West Germany, East Germany, and East Austria should remain as separate states. They remembered far too vividly the last two world wars, in particular the horrors of Nazi Germany, and wished to ensure that Germany would stay weak so as to ensure that this would never happen again. A major proponent of this idea was Charles De Gaulle, who famously remarked that “If Germany is to get its Anschlussed borders back we will most certainly see the reemergence of Prussian militarism and German aggression.” De Gaulle even went as far as to declare that France would leave the EDC, like it had withdrawn from NATO military operations, if all the Germanies were reunited. Across the Channel British Prime Minister Harold Wilson also oppose German reunification, joking “I love Germany so much that I want to see three of them[2].” However Wilson secretly held the belief that some form of German reunification was inevitable[3], and so sought to find ways to negotiate around the edges and gain concessions from Germany. Of course the most important opinion was that of the Knowland Administration in America, and they were torn. Basically no one favored reuniting all of Germany, but at the same time there was little agreement as to how Germany should be reunited. Some took the position that Germany and Austria should be split like they were pre-1938, while others argued that deintegrating West Austria from West Germany and reintegrating the two Austrias would be too expensive and time-consuming. As such they thought East Austria should remain its own state. Ultimately Knowland chose the latter view, and when presented with this idea Harold Wilson accepted it (although with some other conditions about Germany’s military, etc. being attached). From there things moved smoothly. De Gaulle’s opposition didn’t much matter to Knowland and Wilson (neither of whom were members of the EDC), while the Germans were willing to accept whatever reunification deal the major powers agreed on. Once it became obvious that Germany would be reunified De Gaulle gave in, and on September 5th, 1968 the process of German reunification began in earnest. There was only one issue left: The Oder-Neisse Line. After World War II the Allies had pushed Poland’s borders to the west, seizing a large chunk of German land. The Germans had never accepted this agreement, and weren’t about to now. However, Germany was not about to start a war to regain their territories, although to this day the issue remains a tense topic in German-Polish relations.
[1] After independence Czechoslovakia stays together, but as a federation of Czech lands and Slovakia
[2] The Italian PM made a similar joke during German reunification IOTL.
[3] This switches the British and French positions from IOTL, where the French were resigned to German reunification happening and the British (or at least Thatcher) were militantly opposed to it.
Is East Austria really viable enough as its own state? I mean, it's not like there's a great love in that country for its existence. It's an aberration caused by Cold War politics; surely after a while the people will just demand unity with the economic powerhouse just next door and no one will care?
How are Albania, N Korea, the PRC remnant and Yugoslavia doing?
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Next update will cover NK and China. Yugoslavia is doing pretty well, and the end of the Eastern Bloc means that they can finally relax instead of worrying about the Soviets. Albania is moving forward on its OTL course to being the North Korea of Europe. With the Soviets in civil war, and thus no aid flowing to them, Albania is one of (if not the most) diplomatically isolated states on Earth.
Zachanassian
Gone Fishin'
So, I'm guessing the Cold War is over now? And with China still recovering from all the crap they went through, there really isn't anyone to be the US' geopolitical rival.
As for the long-term viability within the eyes of the people, unless the Western Alliance consents (they won't) there's really no way short of violent revolution that Austria will become part of Germany. And, the longer the countries remain separate, the more people get used to the idea of there being a difference between "Austrians" and "Germans". Eg, in OTL there was some talk in the early 1990s of re-unifying Austria with the newly reunified Germany, but it never really went anywhere as the European Project meant that any sort of border between the two German States was rapidly disappearing. And, in many ways, Austrians prefer to be a small Alpine Republic rather than a mountainous outpost of a Greater Germany today, what with nationalist fervour not being quite as important as it was 70 years ago.
East Austria actually has a higher population (and presumably a bigger economy) than West Austria. If you divided them up today East Austria would have around 5.2 million people, while West Austria would have around 3.4 million.
As for the long-term viability within the eyes of the people, unless the Western Alliance consents (they won't) there's really no way short of violent revolution that Austria will become part of Germany. And, the longer the countries remain separate, the more people get used to the idea of there being a difference between "Austrians" and "Germans". Eg, in OTL there was some talk in the early 1990s of re-unifying Austria with the newly reunified Germany, but it never really went anywhere as the European Project meant that any sort of border between the two German States was rapidly disappearing. And, in many ways, Austrians prefer to be a small Alpine Republic rather than a mountainous outpost of a Greater Germany today, what with nationalist fervour not being quite as important as it was 70 years ago.
A pity. I do hope with the USSR gone, the EDC, and NATO can do something about it.
I might have ask this before, but can we see how far, or behind technology is at this point? Seem like a good time now with the USSR finally coming down for good.
It would be interesting to see how the EU plays out with a united Military and incorporation of the Warsaw Pact a generation earlier
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