Russia Dominates the East

The Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, although forgotten by history, could easily have changed history if the conflicts had gone differently. What if Japan had lost these two wars? History would have gone down a much different route.

Both wars were wars of influence. Japan, Russia, and China all had imperial motivations for Manchuria and Korea. If the wars were a loss by Japan, Japanese Manchuria and Korea would never have existed, instead they would fall under Russia's influence.

The Russian Civil War would still happen, as not all the causes were related to the war against Japan. However, though, the war would be much easier for the czarists, leading to their ultimate victory. The communists would then me exiled to Kamchatka, where a small communist state would be made. Without Communist Russia, much of modern history would be rewritten; no Vietnam, no Korea, and the numerous African wars supported by the Warsaw Pact and NATO would have different results, for example Somalia would control all of Ogaden and would be much more democratic and less...well, corrupt.

Somalia wouldn't be the only African state with a changed destiny either; Zimbabwe, or Rhodesia in TTL, is more democratic and less racist. Mali is in a fairly poor condition as they lost their Tuareg territory; Burkina Faso would be much more stable as it wouldn't be overtaken by revolution.

The Pacific War would never happen, and WWII would mostly be an European conflict like its predecessor. Without Stalin in power, the invasion of Poland would only be German, and Polish forces would be able to resist the invasion but would still have some land annexed by the Reich. The Third Reich would overall be weaker and would only take the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, and the Czech-speaking portion of Czechoslovakia. Japan would still join the Axis although their campaigns wouldn't be as successful as in OTL. Without Pearl Harbor, the USA wouldn't have much involvement in WWII, but some troops would be sent into Germany and Italy. Nuclear weapons wouldn't be used to end the war, although the technology would still exist. Italy would also remain a monarchy although its monarchs have little actual power.