Shipbucket

Here we go again...



A while a back ago I introduced Komintern AU merged with my Finland AU project taking place in the same alternative universum. It was however sort of compromise as I wanted to venture more to the idea of (East)Rome/Komintern being a power of it's own alongside with somewhat similar Soviet union as appearing in our own real universum. While I was drawing the Cold war fleet of Komitern I tangled again with the same paramount proplem which I had back with the Novgorod AU idea; Could the Komintern base enough industrial and economical capability to field a "proper fleet"? I noticed that my fleet had expanded from the real life RN/RM/MN size to somewhat surpassing the real life VMF and the relative realism started to fade away from my AU idea.

So I decided to dig in bit more deeply to the economical aspects of the Komintern AU and comparing it to the real life Soviet Union. I didn't need to dig very far. Sadly I realised that according to several sources and studies, the real life big build up of Soviet Unions surface fleet was one of the main factors that led to the economical collapse of Soviet Union...And my AU fleet was gradually surpassing it. If real life Soviet Union couldn't do it, how could my Komintern with tough more functional economy but without natural resources do it?

So there I was, back in the starting point when I abandoned Novgorod. I started to look south, toying around with the idea of replacing Ottoman empire with my (East)Rome completely as far as moving to somewhere else...perhaps somewhere in Asia? But the romano-mania had taken me. I couldn't give it up anymore as I've spended too many hours of researching the history and reforging it to make (East)Rome survive and prosper trough out the history. So I looked north. As the AU Finland had it's own proplems as it needed more land and coastline as well the diapolic plot started to emerge...what if (East)Rome and Finland replaces the Russia/Soviet Union altogether? Intriguing. What if it wasen't the Muscow Grand duchy who started to annex the lands after Mongol power declined but (East)Rome venturing into the Orthodoxian and slavic areas which we far more receiving than the muslim turks in Anatolia? Meanwhile Finland would replace Novgorod and absorting it's northen grounds?

It sorta worked. The history of Russian expansion turned into (East)Roman and Finish expansion rather easily. I let Finland take the northern coast up to the Pacific Ocean as I didn't want to constrain the(East)Rome with the proplem of too many seperate oceans reachs. The Mediterranean and it's passage to the indian ocean was enough the general idea from the previous AU scenario remained.
The idea of finland as colonial power ruling the world's most utter disgrace of land at the top of everything has been rather fun exercise, and most of the Alternative history enjoyment comes when Ive had to replace the omnipotent Russian empire's presence in Asia with puny furtraders... (There will be a proper post about selective history for both Rome and Finland regarding the division of North Eurasia and other elements)

However when the 1917's and the WWII and Cold war approached I was getting some aftertoughts. Should I continue with Komintern and replace the Soviet Union with it or abandon the cloak which it was in effect to a alternative Soviet Union and just pursue it as itself? After all that what I was doing all the time ever since I started these AU ideas based on Soviet never-where systems. Why hide it behind some other similar nation? The concept of Komintern still intrigues me, but it sort of deserves completely "soviet-free" touch and I still wanted to work around with the Soviet never-wheres. Thus I decided that in 1917 Lenin transformed former Roman empire into the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics. And so emerged the Alternative Soviet Union, mother of all AU concepts.

You can approach it in two ways, either following the timeline and AU history of (East)Rome transforming into Soviet Union or just enjoy it as a simplier AU Fleet concpet of what If Soviets didn't build those rocket cruisers but those Carriers which they planned so many times trough out its history.

For clarity reasons I took little bit different approach to the ships. I would still use only the Never-where projects, prototypes, alternative variants and almoust-where ships but I would retain mostly the real life weaponry and systems. This is mainly for two reasons: There is only so few much never-where naval weapons and hardly any radar or EW systems. Thus I took those which exists (like A-217, Kvant, Purga ect.) but used those weapons and systems appearing in real life when there is no never-where systems replacing them. Seccond reason for this is the need to satisfy the needs of AU Finland and other client states, What would Cold war be without P-15's and Ak-230's? Some of the shiptypes, the lesser boat range particulary will find their way into Republican spanish fleet, while much of the northern peculiarities will find good home in Finnish service.

Naturally this will be a Soviet Union Über Alles thread for alternative Trotskyist twist for Marxism-Leninism and a wierd Finno-ugric quest trough dark forrests and tundra... it will also include few "opposite" nations, such as United Scandinavia and Greater Liethuania (when its not under finnish controll), as well as bit toned down Balkans and used-to-be Ottoman rumbstate. Some nationalities will be absorded, some perhaps forgotten to the wheals of history. Lots of gordian knots will be cutted with the damocles swords, some magic and some illerate ignorance of historical realities will be included as in any good AU scanrio
After all, its all about them carriers...
and some nukes...
and icebreakers.

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Will you be ignoring the infamous build quality of some Soviet vessels? (That missile cruiser that had to turn round from attacking Georgia due to a kitchen fire for example)

Oh I could go on for hours of difference between soviet "build quality" (like my own army stories and so) and its out of context unrelated use as a trolling but as this is an AU scenario, arguing over OTL issues is bit moot. So please retrain yourselves for petty comments like above thank you.

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

so does Trotsky hold on to power instead of Stalin coming in in this AU
correct or i misread?

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

Held power, in this AU, Trotsky was the follow on ruler after Lenin. But be patience, I will post a detailed history of both Finland and Rome/Soviet Union.

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

oooo very interesting and my apologies

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

Just a quick correction but shouldn't it be 'Socialist' instead of 'Sosialist'?

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"The first rule is not to lose; The second rule is not to forget the first rule"

"Sadly I realised that according to several sources and studies, the real life big build up of Soviet Unions surface fleet was one of the main factors that led to the economical collapse of Soviet Union..."

I was under the impression that Gorbachev's attempts to achieve "overnight" economic and political reforms was what led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Fan of Dreadnaughts, Super-Dreadnaughts, Fast Battleships and Battlecruisers.

As a big fan of Russian Technology (Naval and Aviation), I will be watching this AU with vigour. Bring it on I say...love it

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There is no "I" in TEAM but there is a ME


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Current Worklist:
Redrawing my entire AU after a long absence from Shipbucket

My somewhat uninformed understanding holds that the Soviet Union was never terribly economically healthy post-WW2; Gorbachev certainly took actions that hastened its demise, but it wasn't an oops-life-was-grand-until-YOU-screwed-things-up sort of situation.