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?
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?