There is an argument to be made for setting up a rump Russian Empire/Federation in Ukraine and Belarus in hopes of it providing a popular alternative, especially if the new government doesn't push for Russian domination and can cobble together a good economy. Even if it doesn't work, it would weaken the USSR.
Fat chance of that. White emigres weren't exactly what you would call enlightened folk.
True, but this government would be little more than a German puppet, plus a lot of Russians did not consider Ukranians to be any different, same as how Prussians did not consider Bavarians to not be Germans, just... peasant Germans. Dismissive, but not necessarily terrible. And I imagine they could learn to play nice if the alternative is a return to the previous decade
It's a major reason the Whites lost the civil war. Sure things became evil vs evil once the Provisional government was out of the picture and the Bolshevik's ignored the election results but it was incompetent evil Vs competent evil and so Lenin's forces won the day.
But loads of inventions are solely human - literature, the arts, language, science, the use of any tool more advanced than a stick, clothing, and cooking meat before you eat it, to name but a few.
Most likely, yes. "Little (homosexual slur, plural) hiding in the (higher institution, plural) while real men make Germany (conservative militarist adjective)."
I assume he also lives in a cave and eats his meat raw, because that’s how animals do it, and apparently people should live like animals now.
I would argue that art, language, and things of that nature are also things which animals have, albeit in a different form. Wales sing, birds decorate, otters open oysters and sea urchins to eat them.
I don't see why the Germans would go through the problem of forcing the Whites to be reasonable instead of picking someone else. Plus, it has the downside that it lays the groundwork for an eventual incorporation into Russia if the USSR were to fall, which is exactly the opposite of what Germany wants. Communist or Tsarist, Germany wants to keep Ukraine separate and dependent on them forever, and the best way to do that is to support independence, de jure and de facto.
I’m not the only one who finds the Masovian Defence Front ominous in its mundane-sounding name, from his ideology and all that?
But by that standard plenty of animals practice pacifistic survival strategies, like running away from enemies, or relying on camouflage to avoid being noticed by predators.
The KMT is never ever agreeing to that. The Chinese almost universally condemned the unequal treaties, and this would be seen as a continuation thereof. They might make commercial concessions, tho.
Well, Germany has several advantages, tho. They are a more cohesive force than the USSR decimated by Stalin's purges, that wouldn't have the threat of Nazi genocide to pull itself together, they can support internal resistance in the USSR, will have better access to world markets to keep themselves supplied, have a better trained army.
The same Soviet Union that almost loses to Finland just four years from now? And that likely won't have Lend-Lease, nor a distracted, genocidal Germany? It really could go either way without the Nutzis in charge.
Especially with how, IIRC, quite a few issues the Red Army had in the Winter War and Barbarossa were due to Stalin purging a sizable proportion of his officer corps (even if recent estimates indicate that a smaller proportion of the officers were purged with the purge disproportionately targeting "flag" officers) a few years prior.
This. As stated, the KMT opposed the unequal Treaties on almost every level and certainly wouldn't wish to cede more of the land they DO control to a foreign power. Yes, Germany might be able to get it back if they really pushed, but whatever small gains they'd earn would be far and out not worth it for how it would hurt their relationship with China.
While you are correct, also remember that this isn't Hitler and his quest for Lebensraum; von Lettow-Vorbeck is nowhere near foolish or arrogant enough to make plans for invading the Soviet Union on his own, and if he were to even try, it would only be upon securing allies. A lot of them. And as strong as the USSR is, even they couldn't stand against a big-enough coalition.
Especially as the Germans would gain more from a Chinese ally in the KMT than alienating China over some port that would be near-impossible to defend anyways.
