Here is a map of the interwar Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which existed between 1918 and 1941, when, in response to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Stalin deported the Volga Germans:
In 1939, it had a population of 606,352, of whom 60% were Volga Germans.
In OTL, even if Stalin had not deported the Volga Germans and the ASSR had survived, it would today not be an independent republic, but a republic of Russia, since all the ASSRs within Russian in Soviet times are still part of Russia today, whereas the seperate SSRs (Soviet Socialist Republics) all became independent.
What if, in an ATL, a) Stalin doesn't deport them, and, b) the ASSR is upgraded to an SSR, allowing it to declare independence in 1991?
This would result in there being a German-speaking country on the eastern edges of Europe bordering Kazakhstan. How do you think that would play out?
In 1939, it had a population of 606,352, of whom 60% were Volga Germans.
In OTL, even if Stalin had not deported the Volga Germans and the ASSR had survived, it would today not be an independent republic, but a republic of Russia, since all the ASSRs within Russian in Soviet times are still part of Russia today, whereas the seperate SSRs (Soviet Socialist Republics) all became independent.
What if, in an ATL, a) Stalin doesn't deport them, and, b) the ASSR is upgraded to an SSR, allowing it to declare independence in 1991?
This would result in there being a German-speaking country on the eastern edges of Europe bordering Kazakhstan. How do you think that would play out?