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What if, for whatever reason, Khruschev never transfers Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR?
I doubt it'd have major impact before the collapse of the SU, but after collapse of the Union(let's be deterministic here) there would be a more western-leaning Ukraine, if a bit smaller, and stronger Russian presence in the Black Sea.
What effects would it have on Russia and neighbouring states? I doubt it'd stop the rise of authoritarianism in Russia, or the strategy of solving internal problems by refocusing public opinion on external "successes" once economy begins to lag.
On the other hand, without such a symbolic target as Crimea could it help the 2011-2013 protest movement if Russia decides to annex something else? What, though?
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