Vyacheslav Molotov
From Turtledove
| Vyacheslav Molotov | |
| |
| Historical Figure | |
| Timeline: | OTL |
| Nationality: | Soviet Union (born in Russia) |
| Religion: | Atheist |
| Date of Birth: | 1890 |
| Date of Death: | 1986 |
| Cause of Death: | Natural Causes |
| Occupation: | Revolutionary, Politician, Diplomat |
| Spouse: | Polina Zhemchuzhina |
| Affiliations: | Soviet Communist Party |
| Timeline: | The Valley-Westside War (posthumous reference) |
| Timeline: | Worldwar |
| Appearance(s): | In the Balance through Aftershocks (posthumous references in Homeward Bound) |
| Timeline: | Southern Victory |
| Nationality: | Russia |
| Date of Birth: | 1890 |
| Date of Death: | 1925 |
| Cause of Death: | Killed in action |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Timeline: | "Joe Steele" (as "the Hammer") |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Date of Birth: | 1890 |
| Date of Death: | 1953 |
| Cause of Death: | Execution by firing squad |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Affiliations: | Demcratic Party |
Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (1890–1986), Soviet politician and diplomat, was a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from Presidium (Politburo) of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev. Molotov positions of diplomacy for much of that time, eventually become the Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union. He lent his name to a non-aggression pact forged between the USSR and Nazi Germany in 1939.
Molotov was known for his ability to suppress any expression of emotion in diplomatic negotiations.
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[edit] Vyacheslav Molotov in The Valley-Westside War
In an alternate where a nuclear war erupted in 1967, Vyacheslav Molotov had been appointed as the Soviet Union representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency several months before the war, something that had not taken place in the home timeline. This suggested that the "breakpoint" of the alternate was before 1967, and that the Soviet leadership had been more hardline than it was at that point in the home timeline.
[edit] Vyacheslav Molotov in Worldwar
Vyacheslav Molotov (1890-1986) was Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union during the reign of Joseph Stalin. In this capacity he was responsible for negotiating with his country's friends and foes. In 1939, he helped forge a non-aggression pact with Germany. In 1941 and '42, he negotiated with the Allies after Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Then in 1942, with the arrival of the Race, Molotov found himself negotiating with all human powers actively fighting the Race, as well as with the Race itself.
Shortly after the invasion, Molotov traveled to Atvar's bannership, the 127th Emperor Hetto, where he had the pleasure of being the first to inform Atvar that humans did not organize themselves politically into empires only, but into a variety of other political systems little understood by the Race and collectively referred to as not-empires. He relished the opportunity to horrify Atvar by admitting that his government had come to power by murdering an emperor, a crime of unspeakable horror to the Race (though it was attempted, and failed, on one occasion in their history).
Molotov also attended Big Five meetings in London, met Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden, attended an Anglo-American-Soviet summit in New York City, and held a clandestine meeting with Joachim von Ribbentrop in the North Sea. As vice-chairman of the War Commissariat, he also played a role in the planning of the USSR's domestic strategy in resisting the Race within its own territory.
Molotov represented the Soviet Union at the Peace of Cairo in 1944, when Atvar agreed to treat with representatives of the Big Five diplomatically. Molotov generally was as aggressive as possible in assuring a favorable agreement for his country, but he did not oppose the Race's colonization of Poland for fear that, if left in human hands, this might precipitate another war between his nation and Germany. To this end he also opposed his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop's attempts to force the Race to yield Poland to Germany.
When Stalin died, Molotov became General Secretary of the Soviet Union, a position he held when the Colonization Fleet arrived. He served in that capacity for many years, despite a 1963 NKVD chief Lavrenti Beria attempted a coup against him, and Molotov was saved only by Red Army Marshal Georgy Zhukov. For several years, he was indebted to Zhukov and often felt he continued to serve as General Secretary only at the general's sufferance.
He constantly supported Mao Tse-Tung's resistance to the Race in China, and arranged for an attack on Australia that consisted of missles armed with warheads full of ginger. As Fleetlord Atvar was present at the time, this created a small scandal.
In 1965, Molotov was approached by German Chancellor Heinrich Himmler (through Ambassador Paul Schmidt) about attacking Poland, expelling the Race, and dividing the country. Himmler was quite convinced that the Race did not have the will to fight back. Molotov quickly realized that Himmler was operating from his Nazi ideology rather than from facts. He knew that the Race had the raw power to defeat such an invasion, and punish the invaders. Moreover, while Molotov had no love for the Race, he believed that Germany was a far greater threat to the USSR. He declined the offer, and made sure that news of the meeting got back to the Race.
Himmler's sudden death seemed to have resolved the crisis, until Ernst Kaltenbrunner was announced as his successor. For Molotov, this was terrible news, as Kaltenbrunner was just as rabid a Nazi as Himmler. Kaltenbrunner renewed Himmler's offer, and again Molotov declined.
Almost immediately, Kaltenbrunner launched an invasion of Poland. The resulting war proved a disaster to Germany, which vindicated Molotov, but the use of atomic bombs by both sides in Poland did environmental damage to Soviet territory, and the crippling of Germany did much to advantage the Race, and in turn disadvantage the Soviet Union.
Molotov did play a part in bringing the war to an end, when Ambassador Paul Schmidt, now acting under Walter Dornberger (who succeeded Kaltenbrunner, a casualty of the war) asked Molotov to broker peacer. Molotov brought Schmidt and the Race's ambassador to the Soviet Union, Queek, together in the Kremlin. Later, when it was learned that United States President Earl Warren had ordered an attack on the Race's Colonization Fleet in 1962 that killed thousands of Race civilians, Molotov, fearful that the USSR could become the sole free power on the planet, reluctantly made it clear to the Race that he would stand with the U.S. if the Race attacked it. While the Race was assured of its power, the knowledge of the possible damage both countries could do to the Race helped spur the Race to compromise.
Prior to Molotov's death in 1986, he was the last leader of the first generation of Tosevites to deal with the Race. The Red Rocket Force named its first interstellar starship the Molotov in his honor, and a great compliment was paid to the late Commissar in 2031 when former Fleetlord Atvar, recalled to Home, hoped that the starship would not cause the Race as much trouble as its namesake had.
[edit] Vyacheslav Molotov in Southern Victory
Vyacheslav Skryabin, known as the Hammer, was one of the leaders of the socialists in Tsaritsin, their last holdout in the Russian Civil War before the forces of Tsar Mikhail II defeated them and restored the Russian Empire.
[edit] Vyacheslav Molotov in "Joe Steele"
The Hammer (the only name by which he was ever known) (d. 1953) was a thin, reedy little man who was a close ally of United States President Joe Steele. The Hammer saw to it that Steele's rival for the Democratic nomination, Franklin D. Roosevelt, died in a fire in 1932. With Roosevelt gone, Steele won the nomination and then the Presidency in short order, and began implementing his authoritarian policies in the United States. The Hammer was one of those responsible for seeing Steele's policies implemented, including purges of the military and the Supreme Court.
Steele died in 1953, shortly after he was re-elected to a sixth term. A power struggle erupted between The Hammer, Vice President John Nance Garner, and GBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover won, and The Hammer was executed.
| Office | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph Stalin | General Secretary of the Communist Party (de facto leader) of the Soviet Union 1953-1963 | Succeeded by Lavrenty Beria |
| Office | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lavrenty Beria | General Secretary of the Soviet Union 1963-1986 | Succeeded by unknown |
| Office | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Maxim Litvinov | Foreign Commisar of the Soviet Union (OTL) 1939-1953 | Succeeded by Dmitri Shepilov |
