The Hot War

Hello! And welcome to my ATL! This is my first work on AltHistory Wiki, and I hope you enjoy it. It will take me some time to completely finish this ATL, but it will be worth it. The basic premise of this ATL is a semi-nuclear World War III fought in the last years of the Cold War between the Communists, and the Allies.

After the death of Yuri Andropov on February 9th, 1984, hard-lined politicians and members of the KGB decide to stage a coupe and take control of the Soviet government. Lead by a rogue KGB deputy named Mikhail Kryuchkov, he quickly seizes power and establishes himself as both General Secretary and Premier of the Soviet Union. Although his relations with the West are sour, he is able to gain enough foreign aid to begin a massive program to revive the collapsing Soviet economy from the oil glut. Although his propaganda and nationalist ideals gain support of the majority of the people, by 1986, his plans of a Motherland back in its glory days is showing no signs of progress. Facing an ever increasing debt and demands of armament reduction, Kryuchkov and the Politburo decide the ultimate last resort: An all-out war with NATO, in order to gain control of the strategic resources needed to keep the Motherland alive. With help from the nations of the Warsaw Pact, and negotiations with some unlikely allies, the Soviet Union will ultimately decide the victor of the Cold War...