Lets say that Zhukov plays a coup d'etat and deposes Stalin in 1946,followed by sone infighiting between he and Stalin dogs
What would Zhukov had make different?
What would Zhukov had make different?
Not happening; after all, Zhukov wouldn't want to risk being hanged if his attempted coup fails (which is probably likely due to the vast terror that Stalin inflicted upon the hearts of everyone).Lets say that Zhukov plays a coup d'etat and deposes Stalin in 1946,followed by sone infighiting between he and Stalin dogs
What would Zhukov had make different?
Lets say that Zhukov plays a coup d'etat and deposes Stalin in 1946,followed by sone infighiting between he and Stalin dogs
What would Zhukov had make different?
Even though the POD is probably Zhukov being selected as some sort of compromise candidate between the various factions of the CPSU after Stalin dying in 1949 instead of 1953, Qilai! Qilai! probably would be a good representation of what a Zhukov-led USSR would look like.
All of which makes the challenge of getting him appointed to the post all the more fun.The leaders of the CPSU had a mortal fear of "Bonapartism"--yet they are going to choose as head of the Party someone who had never ranked as more than a Candidate (i.e., non-voting) member of the Central Committee, had been excluded even from that by Stalin in 1947, had been censured in 1948 over war booty from Germany, was head of the not-terribly-important Urals Military District--oh yes, and he had had a heart attack in 1948. A more unlikely choice for leading secretary of the CPSU in 1949 could hardly be imagined...
Lets say that Zhukov plays a coup d'etat and deposes Stalin in 1946,followed by sone infighiting between he and Stalin dogs
What would Zhukov had make different?
What about temporarily as part of an emergency before stepping down after the crisis and allowing a return to civillian government. Sort of a Soviet Cincinnatus.
someone who had never ranked as more than a Candidate (i.e., non-voting) member of the Central Committee, had been excluded even from that by Stalin in 1947, had been censured in 1948 over war booty from Germany, was head of the not-terribly-important Urals Military District
Could work. Stalin dies early, and infighting is so bad trying to figure out a successor a second civil war seems to threaten. The military steps in. And, yes, Zhukov was (to quote David T):
These very qualifications make him a viable candidate, when you add on his war hero status. He's politically acceptable enough by being a member, not so senior as to be tainted, popular, but not so powerful in his current situation that he could launch a coup on his own from the forces in his existing military district, and whom others look up to but would not necessarily swear personal loyalty to.
Well Stalin did screw it up a lot, right? He purged the officers and didn't go on alert despite warnings and kept ordering ill-led troops into counterattacks and not allowing retreats when encirclement was threatened.If Stalin starts screwing up the war effort...