During WWII, the USSR suffered massive casualties and destruction in defeating Germany. But out of that sacrifice came one of the largest contiguous empires since Mongol times counting both USSR itself and satellite states. And it emerged as a rival superpower.
What if instead of letting it all fall apart without a fight, the USSR went all out to keep as much of its empire intact as possible?
It seems that with the right leaders, USSR could have used the KGB and Army and its nukes to keep its empire in perpetuity.