The Red Divergence

1948. The world was reeling from one of the most devastating conflicts ever seen, and the old empires of yesterday had either died in the flames of war or were fading by the second. In the place, two new superpowers stood: the USA, champion of democracy, reinforced by its allies in NATO, and the Soviet Union, a relatively new state based around the ideals of Communism and state economy, which controlled a mass of puppet states and satellites across its borders. The two were locked in an unpredictable cold war, raged over influence and weapons, the heightening of which could have been catastrophic.

In spring that year, a split occured that threatened Soviet power in southeastern Europe. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with president Tito at the forefront, set out to escape the incoming tide of Soviet control. The move left the state economically isolated in the region, the Kremlin even considering war with the nation, but aid from NATO and improved relations with the west saved it from the catastrophes of both military invasion and famine.

But what if Yugoslavia had retained isolation? What if there was no wall to prevent a Soviet invasion?