Justinian
Justinian
Banned
So I tried doing this timeline before and I thought it might be fun to actually finish it I was using a style of telling it through excerpts from history books. It was kind of interesting, but it actually made it somewhat difficult to actually describe things and kind of got dry. I also started somewhat too early. I'm writing the timeline but I want to keep it collaborative so if you have ideas, criticism or comments please go ahead. I want to try to be realistic as possible. I want to accelerate everything to 1989 so I would really appreciate input to help me do that. The original divergence begins in 1984/1985.
Romanov Ascendant
"Romanov consolidated his power quickly, effectively and brutally. He demonstrated the totalitarian tendencies of his Czarist namesakes" - Keith Jones, American Historian
It had become clear by the mid 1980's that the Politburo's leadership was woefully incapable of keeping up with Reagan's dynamic and aggressive behavior. The Star Wars project was setting off alarms and many believed that the Soviet Union was stagnating. General Secretary Andropov was effective during his tenure, showing that strong leadership from the center could in fact deal with corruption at least to some extent. But his tenure was a short one, his kidney failed and worsened several of his other health conditions, and he died at the age of 69. Before this, it had become clear that a successor would be needed soon. This had set off a leadership struggle within the Politburo, with Gorbachev backed by reformists and senior figures like Andrei Gromyko. Grigory Romanov was the 2nd youngest member of the Politburo, and realized that if he wanted to step up he would need more support. He became very close to Andropov and who became something of a mentor to him. Whether or not this was a genuine friendship or cynical political maneuvering is a matter of debate. With Andropov's support Romanov courted Viktor Grishin and the conservatives. At the March 1985 meeting of the Central Committee, Grishin nominated Romanov. However Gromyko nominated Gorbachev, creating an extremely tense situation. Gromyko withdrew his bid and Romanov was elected unanimously. Gromyko subsequently "retired" and Gorbachev was later removed.
Now the 6th General Secretary of the Communist Party, Romanov had embarked an ambitious campaign of reform. His (relative) youth gave him the dynamism and energy to see it through, despite the difficulty of dealing with the immense byzantine soviet bureaucracy. One of his first serious actions was making the KGB accountable only to the General Secretary. Andropov had imparted in Romanov his hatred of corruption and his fervent belief in the importance of the KGB in safeguarding Lenin's revolution. These moves created dissent, but the rank and file of the Committee of State Security (KGB) had no problem transferring their loyalty for Andropov to Romanov. He used them to eliminate those enemies wherever they stood, cleaning house on the basis of an "anti corruption effort". Outside of the Soviet Union it was criticized as a return to Stalinist purges and seen as a serious violation of human rights. Several UN resolutions on 'Soviet Union's violations of the UN charter's human rights protections' backed by the US and UK were vetoed in the UNSC, but a non binding resolution was passed in the general assembly. While he did clear out many his own opponents in the party or general society, he did step up efforts against corrupt officials with some noticeable benefits. He also continued the Andropov policy of labour discipline, using party volunteers and students to force workers to actually go back to their jobs, rather than sitting around getting drunk.
As the year of 1985 passed to 1986, Romanov continued his reforms. In his May Day speech a new program was announced. It was built on the premise 'developed socialism' had not yet been established, and had stated in full terms that the country had languished under the lethargy of Breznevisim. Romanov made the caveat that Brezhnev did his best for the fraternal brotherhood of peoples in the Soviet Union, but had allowed revisionism to take hold which was something he vowed to correct. This had led to dissent in some of the conservative factions, but they ultimately choose to get behind the leader who appeared to be dealing with the problems in the country. The overall program was called Uprochneniye (Consolidation). It proscribed economic reforms including stricter administration, consolidation of state industries and some elements of self management. More importantly it envised the development and use of an electronic system to allow for more effective economic planning, the system would later be called EGSVT comparable to the Chilian Cybersyn project. He supported the emerging Soviet computer and electronics industry, something he had taken a personal interest in, he also elevated several younger technology experts in the party on a track to Politburo membership. This system once implemented could help deal with some of the inherent problems of a planned economy.
Escalation
The western world had reacted with indignation and fury at the openly defiant General Secretary Romanov. He was compared to Stalin or Hitler, criticized as a totalitarian dictator. The Catholic Church, Amnesty International and other organizations openly criticized them and popular opinion in the United States had decisively turned against the Soviets. As Romanov's new economic program required a vast amount of resources and money, so he choose to back away from several foreign proxy wars. President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher immediately exploited this, the pro Soviet government in Nicaragua was overthrow by a concerted effort by the Contras. Cuba was also encouraged to withdraw from Angola, resulting in the Afrikaaner regime establishing a puppet government there. They also increased efforts to support and supply Afghan Mujahideen with weapons and support in the form of training. Emboldened by the success in Nicaragua, Reagan increased the level of commitment. Instead of just using American special forces to train the Afghan rebel groups, they were now given free reign to operate in Afghanistan advising and assisting the rebel groups. In what was called the summer of '86, the Soviets suffered extensive losses of men and material. During the climax of the Summer of '86 the CIA-SOG (Special Operations Group) helped a large formation of Afghan rebels storm Kandahar airbase. In the subsequent battle American Special Forces and CIA Operatives directly battled Soviet Soldiers defending the airbase.
"We had spent three days preparing the locals, Kandahar was pretty close to one of our supply tunnels that ran through the Pakistan border. The spooks had paid off the commie Afghans to look the other day when we moved in equipment to heavy to move by tunnel. We had 120mm mortars, light howitzers, recoilless rifles, TOW missiles, Dragon ATGMs and ammo. We also moved a lot of Toyotas and assembled technicals. We had to bring in mercenaries from Pakistan because of our Afghans couldn't read, let alone drive. My older brother died during the Tet Offensive, when the VC stormed the Embassy in Saigon. We were going to make those commie motherfuckers pay...
We let it off from three vectors and created a killzone at the front of the base. I moved up, cover to cover, and knocked out a T55 with a LAW. Saw the fucking turret blow off. We blew the gate open with a car bomb and proceeded into the base. I had my M-14 and started lighting them up. It seemed like they were shocked, they couldn't believe we were attacking them directly. We managed to progress faster than I expected, we brought in our technicals and even more men until they got their shit together. We took a foothold in just 40 minutes. I knew that a counter attack was coming, so I had our men dig in. Let them come to us, waste them, and take the rest of the base. I kept my optics and saw that they had a couple T-55s, a BMP-2 and a T-62. They started approaching, I had some Vietnam vets as marksmen and we picked off some of their infantry. They started hitting us with artillery, we lost men and it couldn't be help. But a mother fucking spook took a piece of shrapnel that took half his face off, square in the middle of the runway. We had to burn him, but the three times we got close we were pushed back. One of the Afghans had a brilliant idea, he fired an RPG and obliterated him. The tanks started approaching so I had the TOW gunner fire a couple missiles at them. We blasted the 62 but missed the T-55, and we lost the TOW when it and its gunner ripped apart by some BMP rounds. My second in command radioed in, they saw Hinds approaching from the north. We waited until they got into shooting distance, and as they started strafing us we let off a Stinger and knocked it out of the sky. It scared the rest of them on the ground and they retreated, and at that moment I radioed in for the technicals to pursue them..." - Colonel Reggie Green, author of Black Ops: Afghan Battles (1997)
Ultimately the attack was halted and the joint Afghan-American force had to pull out. But not before they destroyed several MiG-23s on the ground and several Hinds in the air. They briefly hoisted an Mujahideen flag from the air traffic control tower, and the entire episode was filmed by the CIA. The attack was a direct escalation and provocation, yet it was also supposed to be presented to the world as the simple actions of freedom fighters against incompetent communist occupiers. Some Afghans were captured by the Spetznaz, as well as some recovered weapons and documents as well as a non burned American body clearly demonstrated to General Secretary Romanov that the Americans were involved in the raid, which had created dissent. The Soviets responded by accusing the Americans of direct involvement, and that this subsequently would justify any and all actions against those who support the Mujahideen. On October 4th 1986, the Soviets launched a massive attack on Pakistani's military and government infrastructure. The Soviets launched ballistic missiles, including OTR-21 Tochkas at Pakistani airbases, radar and command and control facilities. They managed to destroy many Pakistan planes on the ground. The Pakistanis fought back, using their new F-16s and managed to shoot down 19 MiG-23s and 2 MiG-29s, but by the 6th, most of their airforce was destroyed. This also led to an F-16 being recovered by the Soviets when it crashed in Afghanistan. Once the Soviets had air superiority, they systematically targeted and destroyed most of the training camps. Several Guards Armoured Divisions were transported from Germany to Afghanistan to begin systematic clearing operations on the border. Rumors soon emerged of diseases breaking out in the mountain region of Typhus and Scarlet Fever, although little evidence emerged, some Western analysis believe the Soviets may have used biological weapons. General Secretary Romanov's reasoning was that if the Western powers wished to make Afghanistan a wound in which it would bleed the Soviet Union, the only logical move is to close the wound by any means necessary.
Romanov Ascendant
"Romanov consolidated his power quickly, effectively and brutally. He demonstrated the totalitarian tendencies of his Czarist namesakes" - Keith Jones, American Historian
It had become clear by the mid 1980's that the Politburo's leadership was woefully incapable of keeping up with Reagan's dynamic and aggressive behavior. The Star Wars project was setting off alarms and many believed that the Soviet Union was stagnating. General Secretary Andropov was effective during his tenure, showing that strong leadership from the center could in fact deal with corruption at least to some extent. But his tenure was a short one, his kidney failed and worsened several of his other health conditions, and he died at the age of 69. Before this, it had become clear that a successor would be needed soon. This had set off a leadership struggle within the Politburo, with Gorbachev backed by reformists and senior figures like Andrei Gromyko. Grigory Romanov was the 2nd youngest member of the Politburo, and realized that if he wanted to step up he would need more support. He became very close to Andropov and who became something of a mentor to him. Whether or not this was a genuine friendship or cynical political maneuvering is a matter of debate. With Andropov's support Romanov courted Viktor Grishin and the conservatives. At the March 1985 meeting of the Central Committee, Grishin nominated Romanov. However Gromyko nominated Gorbachev, creating an extremely tense situation. Gromyko withdrew his bid and Romanov was elected unanimously. Gromyko subsequently "retired" and Gorbachev was later removed.
Now the 6th General Secretary of the Communist Party, Romanov had embarked an ambitious campaign of reform. His (relative) youth gave him the dynamism and energy to see it through, despite the difficulty of dealing with the immense byzantine soviet bureaucracy. One of his first serious actions was making the KGB accountable only to the General Secretary. Andropov had imparted in Romanov his hatred of corruption and his fervent belief in the importance of the KGB in safeguarding Lenin's revolution. These moves created dissent, but the rank and file of the Committee of State Security (KGB) had no problem transferring their loyalty for Andropov to Romanov. He used them to eliminate those enemies wherever they stood, cleaning house on the basis of an "anti corruption effort". Outside of the Soviet Union it was criticized as a return to Stalinist purges and seen as a serious violation of human rights. Several UN resolutions on 'Soviet Union's violations of the UN charter's human rights protections' backed by the US and UK were vetoed in the UNSC, but a non binding resolution was passed in the general assembly. While he did clear out many his own opponents in the party or general society, he did step up efforts against corrupt officials with some noticeable benefits. He also continued the Andropov policy of labour discipline, using party volunteers and students to force workers to actually go back to their jobs, rather than sitting around getting drunk.
As the year of 1985 passed to 1986, Romanov continued his reforms. In his May Day speech a new program was announced. It was built on the premise 'developed socialism' had not yet been established, and had stated in full terms that the country had languished under the lethargy of Breznevisim. Romanov made the caveat that Brezhnev did his best for the fraternal brotherhood of peoples in the Soviet Union, but had allowed revisionism to take hold which was something he vowed to correct. This had led to dissent in some of the conservative factions, but they ultimately choose to get behind the leader who appeared to be dealing with the problems in the country. The overall program was called Uprochneniye (Consolidation). It proscribed economic reforms including stricter administration, consolidation of state industries and some elements of self management. More importantly it envised the development and use of an electronic system to allow for more effective economic planning, the system would later be called EGSVT comparable to the Chilian Cybersyn project. He supported the emerging Soviet computer and electronics industry, something he had taken a personal interest in, he also elevated several younger technology experts in the party on a track to Politburo membership. This system once implemented could help deal with some of the inherent problems of a planned economy.
Escalation
The western world had reacted with indignation and fury at the openly defiant General Secretary Romanov. He was compared to Stalin or Hitler, criticized as a totalitarian dictator. The Catholic Church, Amnesty International and other organizations openly criticized them and popular opinion in the United States had decisively turned against the Soviets. As Romanov's new economic program required a vast amount of resources and money, so he choose to back away from several foreign proxy wars. President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher immediately exploited this, the pro Soviet government in Nicaragua was overthrow by a concerted effort by the Contras. Cuba was also encouraged to withdraw from Angola, resulting in the Afrikaaner regime establishing a puppet government there. They also increased efforts to support and supply Afghan Mujahideen with weapons and support in the form of training. Emboldened by the success in Nicaragua, Reagan increased the level of commitment. Instead of just using American special forces to train the Afghan rebel groups, they were now given free reign to operate in Afghanistan advising and assisting the rebel groups. In what was called the summer of '86, the Soviets suffered extensive losses of men and material. During the climax of the Summer of '86 the CIA-SOG (Special Operations Group) helped a large formation of Afghan rebels storm Kandahar airbase. In the subsequent battle American Special Forces and CIA Operatives directly battled Soviet Soldiers defending the airbase.
"We had spent three days preparing the locals, Kandahar was pretty close to one of our supply tunnels that ran through the Pakistan border. The spooks had paid off the commie Afghans to look the other day when we moved in equipment to heavy to move by tunnel. We had 120mm mortars, light howitzers, recoilless rifles, TOW missiles, Dragon ATGMs and ammo. We also moved a lot of Toyotas and assembled technicals. We had to bring in mercenaries from Pakistan because of our Afghans couldn't read, let alone drive. My older brother died during the Tet Offensive, when the VC stormed the Embassy in Saigon. We were going to make those commie motherfuckers pay...
We let it off from three vectors and created a killzone at the front of the base. I moved up, cover to cover, and knocked out a T55 with a LAW. Saw the fucking turret blow off. We blew the gate open with a car bomb and proceeded into the base. I had my M-14 and started lighting them up. It seemed like they were shocked, they couldn't believe we were attacking them directly. We managed to progress faster than I expected, we brought in our technicals and even more men until they got their shit together. We took a foothold in just 40 minutes. I knew that a counter attack was coming, so I had our men dig in. Let them come to us, waste them, and take the rest of the base. I kept my optics and saw that they had a couple T-55s, a BMP-2 and a T-62. They started approaching, I had some Vietnam vets as marksmen and we picked off some of their infantry. They started hitting us with artillery, we lost men and it couldn't be help. But a mother fucking spook took a piece of shrapnel that took half his face off, square in the middle of the runway. We had to burn him, but the three times we got close we were pushed back. One of the Afghans had a brilliant idea, he fired an RPG and obliterated him. The tanks started approaching so I had the TOW gunner fire a couple missiles at them. We blasted the 62 but missed the T-55, and we lost the TOW when it and its gunner ripped apart by some BMP rounds. My second in command radioed in, they saw Hinds approaching from the north. We waited until they got into shooting distance, and as they started strafing us we let off a Stinger and knocked it out of the sky. It scared the rest of them on the ground and they retreated, and at that moment I radioed in for the technicals to pursue them..." - Colonel Reggie Green, author of Black Ops: Afghan Battles (1997)
Ultimately the attack was halted and the joint Afghan-American force had to pull out. But not before they destroyed several MiG-23s on the ground and several Hinds in the air. They briefly hoisted an Mujahideen flag from the air traffic control tower, and the entire episode was filmed by the CIA. The attack was a direct escalation and provocation, yet it was also supposed to be presented to the world as the simple actions of freedom fighters against incompetent communist occupiers. Some Afghans were captured by the Spetznaz, as well as some recovered weapons and documents as well as a non burned American body clearly demonstrated to General Secretary Romanov that the Americans were involved in the raid, which had created dissent. The Soviets responded by accusing the Americans of direct involvement, and that this subsequently would justify any and all actions against those who support the Mujahideen. On October 4th 1986, the Soviets launched a massive attack on Pakistani's military and government infrastructure. The Soviets launched ballistic missiles, including OTR-21 Tochkas at Pakistani airbases, radar and command and control facilities. They managed to destroy many Pakistan planes on the ground. The Pakistanis fought back, using their new F-16s and managed to shoot down 19 MiG-23s and 2 MiG-29s, but by the 6th, most of their airforce was destroyed. This also led to an F-16 being recovered by the Soviets when it crashed in Afghanistan. Once the Soviets had air superiority, they systematically targeted and destroyed most of the training camps. Several Guards Armoured Divisions were transported from Germany to Afghanistan to begin systematic clearing operations on the border. Rumors soon emerged of diseases breaking out in the mountain region of Typhus and Scarlet Fever, although little evidence emerged, some Western analysis believe the Soviets may have used biological weapons. General Secretary Romanov's reasoning was that if the Western powers wished to make Afghanistan a wound in which it would bleed the Soviet Union, the only logical move is to close the wound by any means necessary.
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