I know this is an alternate history but given that the Point of Divergence is only 1991 we can still draw some general conclusions as to how world history would proceed.
The TL says that post Coup the Soviet Union suddenly rebuilds due to mild liberalization and vast oil profits. Liberalization is what brought about the collapse of the Communists in Eastern Europe. The USSR is not China. China had 20+ years of cordial relations with the US and her regional allies to build up a vast export economy. The Soviet Union does not. It has only 5 years and a hostile West, without its old captive market in East Europe. If you think Russia’s economy is bad now imagine if it didn’t have access to Western markets and faced renewed sanctions. As for the huge oil profits windfalls...the major jump in oil prices lasted all of 1 year. Then they can back down. The Soviet Union’s infrastructure was dangerously poor and once the Middle East, Nigeria and pre-socialist collapse Venezuela increase their oil output the Soviet economy would collapse, probably some time in late 1992. (I think Trevor Dupuy’s “Future Wars: the World’s Most Dangerous Flashpoints.” would be a far more likely outcome given this POD, especially the chapter on a Second Russian Civil War.)
Back when the Kickstarter was announced I posted on the Free League T2K Facebook page pointing out three things I thought they would need to do to keep T2K realistic and playable. It appears they failed at all three. Especially where I warned them against bringing current politics and biases into the setting. On Facebook the head editor, but I notice now not the author of the background, assured me that it would not have any current biases. Ha, ha!
Of course these aren’t the only problems with the TL. I watched the overview of the time put up on YouTube by James Langham, who helped write V2 and consulted on this V4 timeline. He says pretty much everything is “plausible” and goes along with it up until the invasion of Britain. Then he finally has a quibble, he’s British so I guess this was finally a bridge too far for him. I for one was dubious from right about where the USSR magically rebounds economically after the coup led by economic hardliners.
A final point I want to make in this rant...in real life after the Soviet Union actually collapsed, NATO did not accept Polish membership until 1999 and the Baltic states waited a further 5 years until 2004. To do so numerous trade and monetary concessions were made to Russia. Even then this was very controversial in both Russia and NATO. Imagine if the hardline led Soviet Union still existed...did EVERY leader of a NATO nation suddenly forget their continent’s long history as well as the concept of “spheres of influence”? NO NATO would not have risked nuclear Armageddon to protect the Baltics or even Poland. I still think even the far better V2 timeline with a Coup Attempt POD is far fetched but at least it makes a bit of sense. This new Timeline on the other hand stretches far into the realm of Alien Space Bat insanity.
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