Any Soviet experts here could clue me on the plausibility and effects of a prolonged Khrushchev Thaw? Would an earlier end of the Cold War and a softer Communism be possible?
From the book Ike's Bluff, Richard Bissell did not tell Eisenhower about a previous close call! He basically wanted the U2 program to keep rolling and did not trust the president's judgment.First, let's say Francis Gary Power's U2 is never shot down. The Four Power Paris Summit is held in May 1960 and is a great success.
maybe he mellows somewhat, learns to delegate, learns to be not so much of a perfectionist
Maybe because of the greater reformist movement in the communist states because of Khrushchev staying in power for longer, the reformists under Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping would get more impetus to oust Mao, hence China and the USSR does not split. Well, yes, a rivalry would still exist, but not to the extent where they nearly went to war with each other in 1969, for example.
Prague Spring? The invasion only happened because Brezhnev and the existing hardliner clique IOTL refused to accept the reforms happening within Dubcek's Czechoslovakia. With Khrushchev as leader by 1968, the Prague Spring is accepted by Khrushchev, but Dubcek would scale back the too anti-Soviet sentiment to be able to receive support from Khrushchev.
Khrushchev would support reform anywhere. He has power over Ulbricht. He has power over Gomulka (Gomulka feared a Soviet invasion so he might soften his stance). Dubcek's an ally in this case. Ceausescu with enough butterflies might not go to China and North Korea in this TL (assuming China's history mostly goes the same until 1976) and might still be the moderate person he was before 1971, and Zhivkov would be forced to reform too. Even the Stalinist Tsedenbal would be forced to reform (since Mongolia was the USSR's lapdog since 1921).
I suggest you guys take a look at my TL, it very much deals with this, and it also has its own massive butterflies. With the USSR's health status better, Khrushchev's tenure would be advanced by 15 years, to be exact. Remember depression came to Khrushchev after he was ousted, and depression really takes a massive toll on a person. Yes, it is stressful to handle such a large country, but depression takes more of a toll on a person. In my TL, he is in power until 1975.
You mean like he accepted the reforms in Hungary?
Stick a link to your TL in your sig.