WI: Joseph Stalin commits suicide in 1941

[Tresckow]

I’ve been reading about Joseph Stalin during the onset of Operation Barbarossa, and witness accounts say that Stalin was completely shocked by Germany’s betrayal of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, despite even Churchill warning Stalin than the Germans were going to attack. On 28 June, Stalin was so irate at everyone around him, to the point that he drove Georgy Zhukov to tears. After lashing out at everyone around him, Stalin said plainly “Lenin founded our state, and we’ve fucked it up,” and then went to his dacha. He stayed for three days, taking no visitors and refusing to answer any calls, until Molotov and others appeared at his dacha begging for his return.

But what if Stalin’s mental breakdown led him to decide that rather than see the Soviet state collapse, he would commit suicide? How would this affect things as Germany sprinted into Russia? Who would take charge of the union?

 

[Lalli]

Most plausible successros are either Zhdanov or Molotov I think.

 

[McAuslan_in_the_Rough]

Stalin doesn't strike me as the sort of man to commit suicide, but it is your PoD, so I will happily go with it. Regarding the incident at the dacha, one of those present (I can't remember who exactly) later described Stalin as looking somewhat uncomfortable at their arrival and greeting them with "Why are you here?" with the implication being that he might have thought they had come to arrest him. So let us suppose he hears a car outside and decides to end it all on the spur of the moment. What might end up happening is what happened after his death IOTL: a sort of committee rule . In fact, the very people who came to the Dacha: Beria, Malenkov, Mikoyan, Molotov and Voroshilov had come to tell Stalin that they decided to form the State Defense Committee and Stalin himself should take charge of this new organization. So ITTL, having found the presumptive head permanently indisposed, I think the Committee proceeds without him. At this point, the USSR is in an existential struggle and I think they are all clever enough to realize that it's not the time for squabbles, so things will probably hold together at least until the tide turns.

 

[thaddeus]

Stalin doesn't strike me as the sort of man to commit suicide, but it is your PoD, so I will happily go with it. Regarding the incident at the dacha, one of those present (I can't remember who exactly) later described Stalin as looking somewhat uncomfortable at their arrival and greeting them with "Why are you here?" with the implication being that he might have thought they had come to arrest him. So let us suppose he hears a car outside and decides to end it all on the spur of the moment. What might end up happening is what happened after his death IOTL: a sort of committee rule . In fact, the very people who came to the Dacha: Beria, Malenkov, Mikoyan, Molotov and Voroshilov had come to tell Stalin that they decided to form the State Defense Committee and Stalin himself should take charge of this new organization. So ITTL, having found the presumptive head permanently indisposed, I think the Committee proceeds without him. At this point, the USSR is in an existential struggle and I think they are all clever enough to realize that it's not the time for squabbles, so things will probably hold together at least until the tide turns.

a camel, a horse designed by a committee? that's a very good analysis above but I wonder, for instance, how Voroshilov would be relieved from commanding the forces at Leningrad? and Beria would be trying to consolidate power in his hands, which of course everyone else would be aware of ... so he's not trusted.

I just think the USSR might even have better leadership in some respects, but they wouldn't have the right SOB to rally the country at the most critical time possible?

 

[redjirachi]

Stalin doesn't strike me as the sort of man to commit suicide

Stalin strikes me as a man who was deep down very lonely and miserable. He was incredibly powerful, but utterly paranoid and it never looked like he overcame his abusive background. So I could buy something like this being the straw breaking the camel's back

Had this suicide happened it would've been interesting to see how the media would spin it. I doubt they would be public and rumor abound would emerge of assassination from every faction

 

[Viking25]

Had this suicide happened it would've been interesting to see how the media would spin it.

The Soviets would never admit to their Glorious leader shooting himself out of cowardice(Thats what It would be seen as by most people if the truth got out) and would probably say he was killed by borgueise western assassins trying to stop the revolution or some other bollocks shortly after sending the few people who knew the truth who weren't part of the clique that took power to a nice warm Gulag in Siberia.

 

[MattII]

Something tells me Beria's not long for the world.

 

[redjirachi]

Something tells me Beria's not long for the world.

Duh; Stalin had more of a soul than Beria

 

[Viking25]

either Zhdanov

Didn't he only get promoted up the ranks after the war? If so then Its probably Molotov as he seems to have been the one constant that Stalin never ever purged for whatever reason and always managed to get out ahead

 

[Viking25]

to the point that he drove Georgy Zhukov to tears.

TIL Zhukov could actually cry

 

[James Ricker]

Something tells me Beria's not long for the world.

Stalin once told Beria at a dinner "If you outlive me you are in big trouble" I think he was giving Beria a reality check by letting him know if anything happened to him, he would be next
The senior NKVD leadership was rather paranoid about Beria considering what he did to the officers who conducted Stalin's purges, they would help get rid of him after Stalin's death like they did in OTL if only to save their own skins.
There would be Petty bickering among Soviet leadership but they would realize they had a war to win and the guys to did that would have the best chance of maintaining power after the war

 

[MattII]

Without Stalin, which side wins the power struggle, the military or the communists?

 

[DG Valdron]

Stalin did almost as much damage to the Soviet war effort as he actually helped. It might be that the Soviet Union does better against Germany.

 

[Evan]

The Soviets would never admit to their Glorious leader shooting himself out of cowardice(Thats what It would be seen as by most people if the truth got out) and would probably say he was killed by borgueise western assassins trying to stop the revolution or some other bollocks shortly after sending the few people who knew the truth who weren't part of the clique that took power to a nice warm Gulag in Siberia.

Nah; blame it on the Nazis to fire the people up against them even more. Unless the clique is afraid that'd make people thank the Nazis.

 

[Viking25]

Nah; blame it on the Nazis to fire the people up against them even more. Unless the clique is afraid that'd make people thank the Nazis.

I mean Nazis are west of the USSR....

 

[Cudymcar]

Stalin was completely shocked by Germany’s betrayal

No, Stalin was not shocked by Germany's "betrayal", he was expecting that. He was shocked by the fall of Minsk.

 

[Tresckow]

TIL Zhukov could actually cry

Too bad there’s no recordings so we would know what Stalin said to cause Zhukov to cry for the first and last time.

 

[Maeglin]

The Soviets would never admit to their Glorious leader shooting himself out of cowardice(Thats what It would be seen as by most people if the truth got out) and would probably say he was killed by borgueise western assassins trying to stop the revolution or some other bollocks shortly after sending the few people who knew the truth who weren't part of the clique that took power to a nice warm Gulag in Siberia.

Nah, it'd be a sudden heart attack or stroke. Claiming western assassins is tantamount to a declaration of War on the West, which is a massive escalation, not a cover-up.

 

[Alex1guy]

Nah, it'd be a sudden heart attack or stroke. Claiming western assassins is tantamount to a declaration of War on the West, which is a massive escalation, not a cover-up.

Yeah they'd spin something in the press about Comrade Stalin working himself to death in service of the state etc. Meanwhile Moscow is going to be an interesting place.

 

[Alanith]

A troika of various relevant individuals. The one thing I can tell you is that it won't include Beria, or at least not for long. Someone's going to off him rather quickly.