What if~Stalin never conquered Russia?

By the turn of the 20th Century, Russia was going through a series of inner turmoils. A incompetant Tsar, the first World War and even a Communist Uprising that would define Russia until the late 20th century. When Russia was under the Soviet Government, it was under the single man dictatorship which villified Russia even today, and that man was named *Josef Stalin*. But what if in an alternate reality, Stalin never conquered Russia (or the USSR in this case), that is what this page will try to cover. But first (and as always) some historical context is in order, just scroll down to the "What if?" part of the page if you just want to read about the alternate scenario.

## Real History

Born as *Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili*in a poor household in modern-day Georgia (the Russian republic, not the US State) his father was a failing Cobbler and his mother was a regular Housemaid. During his childhood, Stalin suffered a series of Injuries and Illnesses, and his father became an alcoholic, causing him and his mother to leave him, since then Stalin's mother wanted him to be religious and become a preist, so she enrolled him to their local Spiritual Seminary, and then received a scholarship to a prominent Spiritual Seminary in the town of Tiflis, but was let go when he missed his final examination. This is when he (ironically) began to read the teachings of Communism (created by Karl Marx) and became interested in joining the Russian Social Democratic Party along with *Vladimir Lenin,* and when Lenin formed his Bolshevik Party in 1903, Stalin hopped in board, and during the 1905 Revolution, he began to spread anti-imperial propaganda and even committed crimes for Lenin, this all caught up to him when he was arrested and for several years came to and from Siberia.

By the time World War 1 began, Stalin was Conscripted into the Russian Army, but was let go due to his stiff left arm (which became stiff due to an injury he sustined during childhood).

During this time, Russia then wanted to pick a fight with Germany.

But of course, they lost.

By this time, anger spread like wildifre across Russia due to their loss to the central powers and also food shortages and the people were looking to the Bolsheviks for reform, so by 1917 Stalin was let out of exile to Petrograd and became an editor of a local newspaper known as the "*Pravada*" and though he also took the position to favor the Provisional Government (lead by Alexander Kerensky) he would oppose Kerensky's government when Lenin and his Bolshevik Party took over Russia.

Then, Russia was embroidled in complete Civil War alter on in 1917 and Stalin became a member of a 5-Member Communist Politburo and as Lenin sent Stalin to a town called *"Tsaritsyn*" (Modern-Day Volgograd, and a city which will later to bear his name) and there he would gradually gain influence over the red army (lead by Leon Trotsky).

By 1924, Lenin's health began to fail him, but what would happen upon his death is that the Politburo would get into a struggle on who would succeed Lenin, including Stalin and Trotsky.

During this struggle, Stalin debated with Trotsky on numerous issues, like the Political situation in China. By 1927, Stalin began to oust the other Politburop members from rule, and it wouldn't be until 11 years later that he would be successful.

With this, Stalin would become the lone ruler of the USSR, millions of Russians died from starvation and disease and millions more from another World War when he faces a leader just as dasterdly as he, and even create tensions with the west which he helped win the war in Europe.

## There's More

Now, before I get to the "What if?" part of this page, there is one more Russian that needs to be mentioned, because he would be (actually \*should\* be) the next leader of the USSR: *Leon Trotsky* (who was mentioned earlier).

Born in Yanovka (in Modern-Day Ukraine) he was then knwon as *Lev Davidovich Bronstein* and to wealthy farmers. When Trotsky was only 9 years old, he went to Odessa by his father and went to be educated in Judaism, he went to a school which spoke the German language, but quickly became Russian due to the Imperial court's policy of *Russification*.

After receving his education, Trotsky began participating in revolutions in Ukraine, but it wan't until he met his first wife when he immersed himself in the techings of Karl Marx. Like Stalin, Trotsky also live din exile in Siberia and in other places, when he was living in London as a pro-communist newspaper editor is when he met with Vadimir Lenin and other pro-communist editors, but he and Lenin had a difference in how to interpret communism and felt out in 1904.

Trotsky retrned to Russia where he participated in the 1905 Revolution, but of course this revolution was won by the Tsar Nicholas II and Trotsky along with other revolutionaries were arrested and sent to jail the next year, only to escape a year after that and he went to Vienna where he would join the Austrian Social Democratic Party, he then traveled to Germany and then joined the nation's Social Democratic Party.

When the first World War broke out in 1914, Trotsky went all over Europe and even Switzerland to aid in their own Social Democratic party. He even moved to the USA to be the editor of a Russian newspaper in New York called the *Novy Mir*. Because he was in New York during the *February Revolution* in 1917, Trotsky did not directly participate in this revolution. But as he was returning home the following month, his ship was attacked by British Roal Navy vessels and was arrested and imprisoned in Nova Scotia. He was let go in April, and returned to Russia in May where he agreed but not officially joined the Bolshevik Party (not for the next few months).

Trotsky along with the other Bolsheviks were arrested in August and released a month after, he was elected chairman of the party in October and became the leader of the Bolshevik Red Army a few weeks later and helped plan the overthrow of Alexander Kerensky's Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks succeeded and established the Soviet Union.

But as Lenin died in 1924 after the Russian Civil War, a power struggle occured within the Bolshevik Party, and Trotsky along with Stalin and other party members vyed for control. By 1927, Stalin gradually gained power and ousted members one-by-one until Trotsky was left. But he was sent into exile a year later to Kazahkstan, then Turkey and eventually Mexico where he remained there until Stalin ordered his assassination in 1940.

## What if?

That was a lot, now comes the question. What if Stalin never takes absolute power in the Soviet Union? Well, if Stalin wasn't going to be the next in line to lead the USSR, it would be (or \*should\* be, actually) Trotsky. Because he was supposed to be.

When Lenin layed dying, he sent his fellow Bolsheviks a letter, telling them to not allow Stalin to rule the Soivet Union.

Though, Trotsky did read this letter.

But did nothing about it, and thus allowed Stalin to oust the Bolsheviks until only \*he\* remained.

But let's say in this alternate reality, Trotsky tries to actually do something to prevent Stalin from ruling over the Soviet Union, and even rounded loyalist leaders from his own Red Army to try to stop Stalin in his own tracks, and for the sake of this Alternate reality, let's say Trotsky's plan worked and saves the Bolsheviks from going extinct.

Now, what would the USSR be under the diraction of Trotsky. Well, in the USSR, only a little.

Keep in mind that Tortsky is considered by a good number of historians as a bigger communist creep than Stalin ever was. Millions of Russians would still die from starvation because the idea to have Russia rapidly industrialize actually began with Trotsky, not Stalin. But he would also try to continue with Lenin's own Communist Ideaology which is called "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" which (ironically) had nothing to do with a dictatorship. It was more about the workers being able to pick and choose their own working officials that also had a regular rotation of all workers in the administration of their country and not one man makes all of the decisions. Though, Totsky would try to emulate his good friend, his tactics would be much more severe.

During the Russian Revolution as well as the Russian Civil War in our reality, Trotsky led the Red Army and they were known to be very brutal in their killing and maiming of the White Army and anybody else who opposed the Bolsheviks. He also became a believer of an eternal revolution as he saw revolutions in not just in Russia, but other European nations as well. He also wanted to fund other pro-communist movements around the world as he believes that communism would eventually envelop the entire world.

In this alternate reality, this would make other nations either fear or hate the USSR even more than they did in our reality.

This alternate reality would still see the rise of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party in Germany.

But unlike in our reality with Stalin, Trotsky would \*not\* in any sense let this Anti-Semitic political party achieve it's goal of "*Lebenscram*", he wouldn't even trust a political party that was created from the direct hatred for communism either.

So, in this alternate reality it could be the Soviet Union that could start World War 2, not Nazi Germany. Because of this, the Nazi party would never be defeated, nor would it be discredited because it never starts the Holocaust as the USSR invades Germany.

Because of this, it's possible that we can see a WW2 very similar to what is seen in the *Command and Conquer: Red Alert*series of video games (minus the Sci-Fi Weapons) where it would be Western Europe and the Central Nations (including the USA) fighting against the Soviets, the death toll could be higher.

This would also effect the Pacific Theater of WW2 as well because Japan would attack Pearl Harbor no matter who started the war in Europe. Only this time, the USA would compete against the Soviets for who can rebuild Japan after the war (just like in our reality) even if the USA can devlop the Atomic Bomb (which would be unlikely in this alternate reality if the Soviets invade Germany before they split the Atom) and use it on Japan.

It is also difficult to say if the Cold War would happen because relations would already be sour between the West and the Soviets. But \*if\* Atomic and Nuclear weapons are invented in this alternate reality, the threat of an all out Nuclear War would be even more realistic than it ever was in our reality as both the USA and the USSR would develop Atomic and Nuclear weapons like crazy, even more so than in our reality.

China also shares this scenario too. In our reality, Mao Tse Tung (Mao Zedong) was funded by the Soviets thanks in large part to Stalin, which allowed his communist party to trumph over the Chinese Nationalist Party. In this alternate reality, Trotsky would do the same. But unlike in our reality, Mao Tse Tung would probably have more of an uneasy alliance with Trotsky due to their differences in ideology.

Though, it is also difficult to say when the USSR would collapse, though because Trotsky was about communist movements all over the world and not just the Soviet Union, it is possible that the USSR would crumble earlier than it did in our reality. However, in the Capitalist Indoctrination system of the west would villify communism and Russia more prominantly than they do in our reality, meaning that no Russian would be deemed a hero, but always a villain.

That is all for this page, what do you think would happen to Russia if Stalin never conquered? Don't forget to visit my Games and Movies wikis as well. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.