I'm trying to look for characters for a TL I'm planning which includes a Stalin-less USSR and I want to know which figures from OTL's USSR from 1945-1970s are likeliest to still have a successful political career even without Stalin's rise to power. I know it's hard to tell and the most likely answer is people who perished in OTL's purges, but I still want to use some recognisable names from OTL.
Soviet Cold War figures likeliest to have a future without Stalin
- Thread starter TheRealAndOnlyGaru
- Start date
I know this isn't directly related to the topic at hand, but I imagine WW2 would go differently in a no Stalin TL, if it happens at all.
When they tried to make a move against Stalin, their main support came from officials and politicians in Leningrad. So I'd look for famous communist leaders from there that were around at the time.
Problem was that Tukhachevsky wasn't communist, any Soviet government would prefer not having him around because of his ideology, the difference in WW2 is that other Soviet governments won't destroy the command of the army trough purges.
Not just then - Stalin infamously cleaned house in Leningrad after the war, killing extremely talented heroes of the siege like Voznesensky. Even controlling for everything else, there was a huge post-war talent spoilage that an earlier Stalin death would avoid.