Assuming Stalin died in 1935, which would be before the Great Purge took off, what would become of the Soviet Union?
What could be considered Stalin's greatest achievement, his forced industrialization through Five Year Plans, was already ongoing with the First Five Year Plan being completed and the Second Five Year Plan being halfway there.
The main question concerns who is going to take over and what policies will follow. None of Stalin's potentates of the early 50s had the political clout to take over in the mid 30s (nor did anyone else for that matter). The way I see it, a clique of politburo members (who?) takes over with tacit support behind the scenes from Yagoda's NKVD and the Red Army. A purge probably won't occur, meaning the USSR is much better equipped to deal with the Nazi invasion in 1941, assuming it happens as scheduled despite butterflies.
What could be considered Stalin's greatest achievement, his forced industrialization through Five Year Plans, was already ongoing with the First Five Year Plan being completed and the Second Five Year Plan being halfway there.
The main question concerns who is going to take over and what policies will follow. None of Stalin's potentates of the early 50s had the political clout to take over in the mid 30s (nor did anyone else for that matter). The way I see it, a clique of politburo members (who?) takes over with tacit support behind the scenes from Yagoda's NKVD and the Red Army. A purge probably won't occur, meaning the USSR is much better equipped to deal with the Nazi invasion in 1941, assuming it happens as scheduled despite butterflies.