Collapse of the Soviet Union

The Collapse of the Soviet Union is a timeline that speculates about what would happen if the Allies still won World War II, but greater stress on the Soviet Union during the war causes them to collapse shortly thereafter. This is an open timeline, contributions are welcome.

1945

 * The Soviet Union government collapses. A new democratic Russian government comes to power.  Meanwhile Russian minorities begin making calls for independence.
 * Japan surrenders to the United States, World War II has ended.

1946

 * The Chinese Civil War resumes. The Nationalists are getting strong support from the United States.  Meanwhile the Communists lack support except for exiled Russian communists who have come to China to fight in the Civil War.
 * The new Russian government makes it clear it cannot handle its occupation duties due to disorder in its own territories. Germany and Austria are divided between American, British and French Zones.
 * Allied troops occupy Albania to prevent a communist takeover of the country.
 * Russian and British troops leave Persia.
 * Bulgaria votes to remain a kingdom.
 * French troops arrive in Indochina to battle the Viet Minh.

1947

 * Russia returns control of territory taken during World War II to Poland.
 * Truman Doctrine: President Truman announces America’s intention to rid the world of Communism once and for all using any means necessary. US economic and military arrives throughout Eastern Europe, Russia and China to prevent communist takeover.
 * India and Pakistan gain independence.
 * Communist takeover is defeated in Romania.

1948

 * Communist party is outlawed in Czechoslovakia.
 * The Republic of Korea gains its independence and takes over government of the entire Korean peninsula.
 * Communist insurgency in Malaya.

1949

 * A proposed military alliance between the United States and Western Europe fails to be realized. Many Europeans feel that the Americans are letting down their promise to fight communism outside Eastern Europe, Russia and China.  Meanwhile, Americans are against the idea of using their tax money to prop up the European colonial empires.
 * Germany is once again declared independent after the occupation zones are merged. American troops continue to occupy the country and promise to permanently occupy certain bases.
 * Senator Joseph McCarthy’s attempt to tell the world about the morally degrading influence of American celebrities falls on deaf ears.
 * Ceylon, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Jordan, and Portugal all join the UN.
 * Konrad Adenauer becomes the first chancellor of the new German government.

1950

 * The last communist soldier surrenders in China. Chiang Kai-shek declares victory against the Communists.  Meanwhile the UN recognizes Chinese control over Taiwan.  Mao flees to Vietnam.
 * Paul Nitze warns the American government about getting involved in any of the European colonial wars.
 * Robert Schuman speaks out against the current world situation with the United States being the world’s only “superpower.” He urges the European countries to ban together or else the United States will walk all over them.
 * The Second Russian Civil War. The attempts by the new Republic of Russia to keep order in the country fails.  Several military leaders try to launch a coup, but they are only partially successful.  Loyalist and rebel forces fight across the country.  Meanwhile several new nations declare independence in Eastern Europe, the Caucus Peninsula and Central Asia.  East Prussia declares independence as Prussia.  Finland intervenes in the war and occupies territory it originally controlled during WWII.
 * The United Nations meanwhile votes to not intervene in the war, learning the lesson of trying to invade Russia proper. Nevertheless, the US sends aid to Loyalist forces.
 * China, however, ignores the UN resolution and invades Russia taking control of the Far Eastern Province and other territory in Siberia.

1951

 * European Coal and Steel Community is formed.
 * Russian refugees pour into Eastern Europe causing several countries to close their borders. Many Russian scientists make their way to either the UK or France.

1952

 * Japan once again becomes a sovereign nation.
 * Gamal Abdel Nasser coup against King Farouk of Egypt fails.
 * The UK explodes their own nuclear bomb, making them the second nuclear power. Tensions increase between Americans and Europeans.

1953

 * The Second Russian Civil War ends after the last rebel general surrenders. A new Constitution is declared.  Meanwhile a cease-fire is declared with Finland and China, recognizing their gains.
 * The Bermuda Conference. President Eisenhower meets with Winston Churchill and Joseph Laniel of France to address deteriorating relations between the US and the European countries.  Little is accomplished.

1954

 * Viet Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu. France abandons Indochina which splits into three new nations: Cambodia, Laos and the communist Vietnam (the first communist state since the fall of the USSR).
 * A leftist government comes to power in Guatemala. Despite some calls to intervene in Congress, most Americans are not interested in fighting communism anymore.  The United States begins to sink back into isolationism.
 * Another attempt by Nasser to overthrow the King of Egypt fails. The UK promises to defend Egypt from takeover by radical forces.

1955

 * The Baghdad Pact is founded by Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
 * Germany begins rearming. In response Poland announces it will increase the size of its military.  Poland is one of the strongest American allies on the continent.
 * The European Coal and Steal Community is reorganized into the European Community, a multi-national union made up of Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to defend European interests in the world.

1956

 * Pro-EC protestors are attacked by police in Poznan Europe. Poland announces its intention to create an eastern Europe version of the EC.

1957

 * In a joint British-French-German experiment, the EC has launched the world’s first man-made object into space. Public opinion in the US pushes the President to announce the creation of an American space agency.
 * Afghanistan joins the Baghdad Pact.
 * The Intermarum is created as an Eastern European version of the EC. Member nations include the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), Finland, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Prussia and Czechoslovakia.

1958

 * The EC intervenes in Iraq when a coup attempts to overthrow the monarch. The Middle East is drawn closer under EC influence.
 * Britain builds several ICBM bases in Bermuda secretly. Nuclear missiles can now reach several places in the eastern United States.

1959

 * Communist revolution in Cuba convinces the US that they have been in isolation for too long. American forces invade Cuba easily toppling the Communist government, but unable to completely eradicate Communist guerillas from the countryside.
 * Communist Chinese forces make a comeback in China, attacking the country from secret bases in Vietnam.

1960

 * France becomes the third nuclear nation.
 * Bermuda Missile Crisis: An American spy planes discovers British ICBMs in Bermuda. The President orders the island to be blockaded so the British Prime Minister orders the Royal Navy to break the blockade.  While the EC backs Britain, the Intermarum announces its support of the United States.  Even with the world on the brink of nuclear war, the diplomats manage to prevent the war from turning hot.  In exchange for Britain removing the ICBMs, the US will pull its troops out of Germany and Italy.
 * The Bermuda Missile Crisis convinces the US that they need to take the threat of European “Neo-Imperialism” seriously.

1961

 * The US embassy in Havana is blown up, proving that the Communist insurgency in Cuba is still going strong.
 * EC sends forces to intervene in Angola to keep the country under Portuguese rule.
 * US begins fostering stronger ties with Latin America to prevent European influence from spreading into the area.

1962

 * China attacks India, claiming areas near the border. It occupies a small strip of land.  Meanwhile the war convinces India to grow closer with the EC for protection.