Reds! A Revolutionary Timeline

[vilani99]

Where exactly did the siege lines stop? OTL, once Japanese troops established a beachhead on Singapore, the defense was doomed, especially once the lines reached the point of threatening the water supplies for the city. However, even before that point, I can't imagine being penned up on the island with a million civilians was sustainable.

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The siege perimeter is on the channel, the whole island holds throughout the war.
Supplies are able to be ferried across the IJN blockade by submarines. I'll leave the fate of the civilian pop to the Troika.

 

[Spartakrod]

The siege perimeter is on the channel, the whole island holds throughout the war.
Supplies are able to be ferried across the IJN blockade by submarines. I'll leave the fate of the civilian pop to the Troika.

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There's this tiny gremlin voice in my head demanding a battle of suiyang type scenario but I must remain strong and resist.

 

[Shadowhisker]

There's this tiny gremlin voice in my head demanding a battle of suiyang type scenario but I must remain strong and resist.

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dew it

 

[vilani99]

 

[LtDanAintGotLegs]

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I mean you joke, but the siege is going to force the civilian population through a hell that makes Leningrad look easy. It sounds really cool, but without open sealanes, I don't think Singapore can hold in the long run. It can certainly make the Japanese pay a bloodier price though.

 

[TheParkerMachine]

Reds! is a fine timeline but its politics are a bit iffy. wouldve been way better if at the end of the TL every citizen in the UASR turned to the camera & said "i am capitalist now" & then specified they're the exact kind of capitalist i am.

 

[Jake]

Reds! is a fine timeline but its politics are a bit iffy. wouldve been way better if at the end of the TL every citizen in the UASR turned to the camera & said "i am capitalist now" & then specified they're the exact kind of capitalist i am.

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For the sake of my continued sanity, I'm choosing to assume that this was a joke.

 

[vilani99]

I'm pretty sure it's a riff on a joke tweet about Barbie, so I think that's a safe assumption

 

[wallabon]

I'm pretty sure it's a riff on a joke tweet about Barbie, so I think that's a safe assumption

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what tweet is this?

 

[Jake]

I'm pretty sure it's a riff on a joke tweet about Barbie, so I think that's a safe assumption

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You never know these days. Besides, I haven't seen the tweet you're referring to.

 

[Book Jockey]

what tweet is this?

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IIRC it was this one, about Black Panther:

https://twitter.com/Tormny_Pickeals/status/965640850578575362

 

[SuperZtar64]

For the sake of my continued sanity, I'm choosing to assume that this was a joke.

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Internet leftist discovers humor

 

[AlexGarcia]

LAW ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLAG, THE COAT OF ARMS AND THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

New Law published in the Official Journal of the Federation on September 16, 1936.

ORIGINAL TEXT
Amendments made in the future have been omitted. You can review them here: [Link] [1]​

The All-Union Congress of Soviets, through the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee, decrees:

CHAPTER I
On the National Symbols​

Article 1. The Coat of Arms, the Flag and the National Anthem are the National Symbols of the Union of Socialist Republics of Mexico. The present law is of public order and regulates its characteristics and diffusion, as well as the use of the Coat of Arms and the Flag, the honors to the latter and the execution of the Anthem.​

CHAPTER II
On the characteristics of the National Symbols​

Article 2. The National Coat of Arms is constituted by a Mexican eagle, with the left profile exposed, the superior part of the wings at a higher level than the plume and slightly deployed in combat attitude. With its left talon resting on a flowering cactus that grows on a rock, it holds a curved snake with its right talon and its beak, in an attitude of devouring, so that it harmonizes with the whole. The nopal cactus is ramified at the sides. The eagle will be superimposed on a rising Sun that illuminates a blue sky, being surrounded by two bundles of wheat, accompanied by two corn, one on each side, and supported on both sides by red ribbon, where in its center will be, in acronyms, the name of the country. Above the eagle will be a red star, as well as the inscription "WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!", and below, a machete-hammer-rifle, symbol of the alliance between Workers, Peasants and Soldiers. Finally, all the symbols mentioned will be inside a red circle, in turn surrounded by the national colors as borders.

Article 3. When the National Coat of Arms is reproduced on the reverse of the National Flag, the Mexican eagle will be presented perched on its right claw, holding the curved serpent with its left claw and beak.

Article 4. The National Flag consists of a tricolor design (green, white and red) with the red section being the larger of the tricolor, which in its center has the National Coat of Arms. The proportion between width and length of the flag is four to seven. It may carry a ribbon or tie with the National Colors at the bottom of the moharra.

Article 5. The National Anthem of the Union of Socialist Republics of Mexico shall be The Internationale, anthem of all workers. The National Anthem shall be used both in Spanish and Mexican, as well as in the native languages where autonomy exists, by virtue of what is decreed in the Political Constitution. The Commissariat of the People for the Nationalities of the Union will guarantee the existence of translations of the National Anthem in those specific regions.​

CHAPTER III
On the dissemination of the National Symbols​

Article 6. Any reproduction of the National Coat of Arms shall faithfully correspond to the model referred to in Article 2 of this Law, which may not be varied or altered under any circumstances.

Article 7. The authorities may inscribe their denomination on the National Flag, as long as it contributes to the worship and respect of said National Symbol, does not invade the National Coat of Arms and the copy strictly adheres to the provisions of Article 4 of the present Law.

Article 8. The National Flag shall salute, by means of a slight inclination, without touching the ground, only to another Flag, national or foreign; in special ceremonies, to the remains or symbols of national heroes; and to correspond the salute between the members of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee or of a foreign Head of State in case of international reciprocity. Apart from these cases, the flag shall not salute any person or symbol.

Article 9. The civilian salute to the National Flag shall be made in a firm position, placing the right hand extended on the chest, palm down, at the level of the heart. The salute shall be made with the head uncovered. The members of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee, as well as the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, shall give the military salute.

Article 10. It is obligatory for all educational institutions of the country, official or private, to have a National Flag, with the purpose of using it in civic acts and to affirm among the students the worship and respect that should be professed for it.

Article 11. In official acts of an international nature that take place in the Republic, only the flags of countries with which the Mexican Government maintains diplomatic relations may be hoisted or displayed, and the same honors shall be paid to them as to the National Flag. In international events of a sporting, cultural or other nature, in which Mexico is the host country, the flags of countries with which Mexico does not maintain diplomatic relations may be hoisted or displayed, in accordance with the corresponding ceremonial.

Article 12. Persons may use the National Flag in their vehicles or display it in their places of residence or work, provided they observe the respect due to said Symbol. In these cases, the National Flag may be of any size. Its use for lucrative purposes is forbidden both to individuals and corporations.

Article 13. The Executive Sash constitutes a form of presentation of the National Flag and is the emblem of both the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee, and the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, for which reason it may only be worn by both of them, and shall have the national colors in stripes, where the red shall stand out more than the other colors, longitudinally, with the green color corresponding to the upper stripe. It shall bear the National Coat of Arms over the three colors, embroidered in golden thread, at the bearer's chest level, and the ends of the Band shall be finished with a golden fringe.

Article 14. The singing, execution, reproduction and circulation of the National Anthem shall adhere to the lyrics and music of the version established in the present Law. The interpretation of the Anthem shall always be done in a respectful manner and in an environment that allows observing the due solemnity.

Article 15. It is strictly forbidden to alter the lyrics or music of the National Anthem and to perform it totally or partially with compositions or arrangements. Likewise, it is forbidden to sing or perform the National Anthem for profit.

Article 16. The National Anthem shall only be performed, in whole or in part, in solemn acts of an official, civic, cultural, school or sports nature, and to honor the National Flag.

Article 17. The teaching of the National Anthem is obligatory in all schools of basic education. The civil demonstration of respect for the National Anthem shall be made in a firm position.​

CHAPTER IV
On the lyrics of the National Anthem​

Article 18. The official lyrics of the National Anthem are as follows [2]:​

I

Up with the poor of the world,
up, everyone to fight
for proletarian justice,
a new world is born

Let us break all the chains
of traditional slavery,
and those who were never anything
owners of the world today will be

To the struggle, proletarians,
to the final fight,
and the people rise up
by the International

To the struggle, proletarians,
to the final fight,
and the people rise up with courage
by the International

II

We no longer want saviors
that serve only capital,
from now on the workers
will impose their will

Let us take from the bourgeois the stolen
and all together, free now,
by duty we will decide
and each one will comply with it

To the struggle, proletarians,
to the final fight,
and the people rise up
by the International

To the struggle, proletarians,
to the final fight,
and the people rise up with courage
by the International


III

We the workers
of the world, army of peace,
we must own the land
that the idler steals from us

And the great thunder will rend the darkness
that close the way to the truth,
and when our dawn arises
a new world will be illuminated

To the struggle, proletarians,
to the final fight,
and the people rise up
by the International

To the struggle, proletarians,
to the final fight,
and the people rise up with courage
by the International​

---

A Brief History of the Mexican National Symbols (in 1936)



The National Coat of Arms of the USRM until [Redacted]



The National Flag of the USRM until [Redacted]




The Executive Sash of the USRM until [Redacted]​

When the Union of Socialist Republics of Mexico was founded, there were serious debates about the maintenance, or not, of the previously existing national symbols, especially the national flag. The members of the Laborist Party demanded the maintenance of the flag unchanged, while assuming an openly social democratic position, emphasizing that the national flag was already, strictly speaking, revolutionary.

For their part, within the POLN, nationalists promoted minor changes to the national flag, such as the inclusion of a red star, as opposed to communists and anarchists who emphasized a bigger change, although logically with different ideas.

The anarchists demanded the implementation of a simple red flag, which they considered the universal flag of the proletariat. In some cases, they also advocated for a red-black flag. They rejected out of hand any kind of nationalist symbolism, since they considered the tricolor flag a symbol of the oppression of the Mexican people at the hands of the bourgeoisie and its old allies since the American country gained its independence in 1821. The Zapatista members of the POLN had some sympathy for this, although they didn't normally reject the symbol of the eagle and the snake.

The communists were at a crossroads, since while it was true that a simple minor modification to the patriotic symbols could not be accepted, the full rejection of the nationalist symbols, which in part justified the existence of Mexico as a mestizo nation (the eagle and the snake were clearly a reference to the Nahua past of Mexico as a mestizo nation, excluding the existence of other indigenous ethnicities) would be a reason for continued rejection not only in the POLN but, in general, in Mexican society. There had to be a compromise.

The compromise was the flag and coat of arms shown above: while emphasizing the supremacy of red, the color of the workers, over the green and white of the old tricolor, a union between the eagle and the snake was promoted with a design based on the socialist heraldries of the Soviet Union, showing corn, in addition to wheat, as a national and rural symbol.

The solution didn't convince the anarchists, denouncing the flag, but their power in the POLN was minimal. The POLN Nationalists and the members of the Laborist Party were also unhappy with the communist compromise, but reluctantly agreed to avoid further trouble. It would be decades before the flag and coat of arms would be replaced with a more revolutionary design.

One point of consensus, however, was the replacement of the old Mexican National Anthem with The Internationale. While members of the nationalist wing of the POLN were reluctant to accept this change; communists, anarchists and laborists readily agreed. However, unlike the original lyrics, the Mexican variant of The Internationale has a more interventionist and liberationist character.​

---

[1] As you can expect, modern day Reds! Mexico has a different flag, coat of arms, and executive sash.
[2] If you want to hear this version of The Internationale in Spanish, here.​

 

[Jake]

Internet leftist discovers humor

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I've seen people come out with stuff that's barely less absurd and mean it.

 

[SuperZtar64]

[2] If you want to hear this version of The Internationale in Spanish, here.

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The single biggest tragedy of this already tragic timeline is that by the end of it literally every country in the world is gonna have The Internationale as its anthem and the world's anthem diversity will be zero.

 

[Libertad]

The single biggest tragedy of this already tragic timeline is that by the end of it literally every country in the world is gonna have The Internationale as its anthem and the world's anthem diversity will be zero.

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You may be trying to joke around here but what's even more "tragic" is that there will be no need for national anthems anymore by the time that every country in the world becomes "Red". So no anthem diversity when there is no anthem AT ALL.

 

[SuperZtar64]

You may be trying to joke around here but what's even more "tragic" is that there will be no need for national anthems anymore by the time that every country in the world becomes "Red". So no anthem diversity when there is no anthem AT ALL.

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I'm joking a bit but that does sound like a terribly depressing and awfully boring world. No flags, no anthems, no national symbols. Nightmarish.

The Internationale isn't even a good anthem. It's a fine song I suppose, but I've always found it more appropriate as something a bunch of revolutionaries would sing in a bar... in the context of being the anthem of a country it sounds ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as the German national anthem but still silly. Thank god the Communist bloc of OTL didn't try something as silly as what Comintern countries do here.

It's a real shame, too. Communists make great music. Shame they use the same mediocre song over and over.

 

[AlexGarcia]

The single biggest tragedy of this already tragic timeline is that by the end of it literally every country in the world is gonna have The Internationale as its anthem and the world's anthem diversity will be zero.

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1. This is not the same version of The Internationale, it's a Mexican variant, so, in a way, it's unique considering its roots.
2. There's no need for different anthems in a stateless, classless society, which is communism.
3. Some countries, like the UASR, have their own unique national anthem, like for example, Solidarity Forever. It's just that I decided that Mexico won't have dual national anthems, especially because there are no songs that could fit for an ideal of a socialist Mexico.

 

[Libertad]

I'm joking a bit but that does sound like a terribly depressing and awfully boring world. No flags, no anthems, no national symbols. Nightmarish.

The Internationale isn't even a good anthem. It's a fine song I suppose, but I've always found it more appropriate as something a bunch of revolutionaries would sing in a bar... in the context of being the anthem of a country it sounds ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as the German national anthem but still silly. Thank god the Communist bloc of OTL didn't try something as silly as what Comintern countries do here.

It's a real shame, too. Communists make great music. Shame they use the same mediocre song over and over.

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If you are starting a soccer match with the score 15-0 in your favor and with the opposition team being a visiting team that is 8 men down with no goalkeeper, what's the point of your fevered flag waiving and elaborate chanting to rally the players on the field?

It looks ridiculous.

Same thing works with our national anthems to rally the troops around. The very point of building world communism is that it comes with the elimination of tribalism and the national anthems' obsolescence comes with the elimination of nation-states.

Same thing works with the use of the Internationale.

Besides my personal utopia is that every workers' republic adopting their own version of the Soviet anthem, which is ridiculous in itself.

 

[Imag3HQ]

National anthems this, national anthems that. Y'all are sleeping on coats of arms.

 

[Spartakrod]

Every Red Bloc country has the Internationale as Co-official with a particular, more specific anthem.

America has a relyriced Hymn of the Republic, the USSR has the Hymn of the Soviet Union, China has the Ode to the Socialist Motherland, and honestly despite attempts to find an alternative I don't think there really is any replacing Auferstanden aus Ruinen for Germany.

 

[Spartakrod]

Also official names for countries because we may as well, of the top of my head,

Comintern

North American Union of Socialist Council Republics

1. New African Socialist Federative Council Republic
2. Metropolis Socialist Council Urban Republic
3. Chicagoland Socialist Council Urban Republic
4. Chicano Socialist Council Republic
5. Dominican Associate Socialist Council Republic (part of UASR)
6. Haitian Associate Socialist Council Republic (part of UASR)
7. Ryukyuan Associate Socialist Council Republic (part of UASR)
8. Canarian Associate Socialist Council Republic (part of UASR)
9. Quebecois Associate Socialist Council Republic (part of UASR following dissolution of Canada)
10. Apache Socialist Council Indigenous Republic
11. Sioux Socialist Council Indigenous Republic
12. Deleon Debs Commune Socialist Council Urban Republic
13. Californian Socialist Council Republic
14. Carolinan Socialist Council Republic
15. Virginian Socialist Council Republic
16. West Virginnian Socialist Council Republic
17. Louisiana Socialist Council Republic
18. Vermont Socialist Council Republic
19. New Hampshire Socialist Council Republic
20. Maine Socialist Council Republic
21. Hawai'i Associate Socialist Council Republic
22. Alaskan Associate Socialist Council Republic
23. Idaho Socialist Council Republic
24. Iowa Socialist Council Republic
25. Dakota Socialist Council Republic
26. Maryland Socialist Council Republic
27. Delaware Socialist Council Republic
28. Floridan Socialist Council Republic
29. Puerto Rican Associate Socialist Council Republic
30. Minnesota Socialist Council Republic
31. Michigan Socialist Council Republic
32. Ontario Associate Socialist Council Republic
33. New Brunswick Associate Socialist Council Republic
34. Nova Scotia Associate Socialist Council Republic
35. Nebraska Socialist Council Republic
36. Nevada Socialist Council Republic
37. Sequoyah Socialist Council Indigenous Republic
38. Oklahoma Socialist Council Republic
39. Arizona Socialist Council Republic
40. Deseret Socialist Council Republic
41. Colorado Socialist Council Republic
42. Montana Socialist Council Republic
43. Missouri Socialist Council Republic
44. Mississippi Socialist Council Republic
45. Massachusetts Socialist Council Republic
46. New York Socialist Council Republic
47. New Jersey Socialist Council Republic
48. Wisconsin Socialist Council Republic
49. Ohio Socialist Council Republic
50. Illinois Socialist Council Republic
51. Pennsylvania Socialist Council Republic
52. Rhode Island Socialist Council Republic
53. Virgin Islands Associate Socialist Council Republic
54. Micronesian Associate Socialist Council Republic
55. Marshall Islands Associate Socialist Council Republic
56. Guam Associate Socialist Council Republic
57. Arkansas Socialist Council Republic
58. Wyoming Socialist Council Republic

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

1. Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
2. Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
3. Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic
4. Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
5. Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
6. Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
7. Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
8. Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
9. Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic
10. Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
11. Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
12. Polish Associate Soviet Socialist Republic (part of USSR)
13. Mongolian Associate Soviet Socialist Republic (part of USSR)

Free Socialist Ratrepublic of Deutschland

Socialist Worker's Republic of Zhongguo

Socialist Council Republic of Nihon.

People's Republic of Chosun

Democratic Republic of Iran

Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia

Socialist Republic of Hungarian Soviets

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

Union of the Socialist Republics of Mexico.

Socialist Council Republic of Chile

Argentine Federal People's Republic

Socialist Union of Peru

Socialist Federative Council Republic of Centroamerica

Hellenic Democratic Soviet Republic

Soviet Republic of Turkiye

Socialist Federative Republic of Kurdistan

Democratic People's Federation of Palestine

Democratic People's Republic of Finland

Socialist People's Republic of Albania

Socialist Republic of Romania

Free (North) Philippine Socialist Republic

Socialist People's Republic of (Middle) Nusantara

Socialist Union of Indochinese Peoples

Socialist Republic of Angolan Soviets

Federal Socialist Republic of the Congo

Socialist Republic of Azania

Liberian Democratic People's Republic

Socialist Worker's Republic of Somalia

People's Council Republic of Morocco

Socialist Republic of Italian Councils

AFS

Imperial Union of France, Wallonia, Great Britain, North Ireland and their Territories

Confederation of West Canada (Post breakup)

Empire of the United States of Brazil

Greater Bharatiya Commonwealth

Kingdom of Nepal

Kingdom of Bhutan

Kingdom of Sweden

United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Flanders

Kingdom of Spain

Republic of Portugal

Federation of East African States

West African Commonwealth (Nigeria)

United Kingdom of Egypt, Cyrenaica, and Sudan

United Kingdoms of Arabia

Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Demark

Dominion of South Ireland

Commonwealth of Australasia and Oceania

United Kingdoms of Great Malaysia

(South) Philippine Commonwealth

Federation of the Sahel

Union of Burma

United States of Venezuela

American Havana (Officially United States of America, Colloquially Cuba or Americuba)

Greek Heraklion (Officially Kingdom of Greece, Colloquially Crete)

West Indies Federation

Republic of Iceland

Commonwealth of Rhodesia

Imamate of Yemen

Sultanate of Oman

Republic of Tripotolina

Republic of (South) Algeria

Oriental Republic of Uruguay

Republic of Ecuador

Sultanate of Aceh

Imperial Deutsch Federation

Republic of Cameroon

Kingdom of Thailand

Unaffiliated

Kingdom of Afghanistan

Swiss Confederation

Republic of Bolivia

Republic of Paraguay

Republic of Colombia

People's Republic of Mozambique

South African National Republic

 

[Shadowhisker]

Republic of Iceland

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Huh. I distinctly recall the UASR occupying Iceland and Greenland during WW2. (Partly to get better Arctic supply lines to the Soviets, I think? Not sure if it was before or after the Nazis occupied Denmark.) Did the FBU get Iceland as part of the post WW2 horse trading? Like, "give us Iceland and we drop demands for a slice of Japan"?

 

[Spartakrod]

Huh. I distinctly recall the UASR occupying Iceland and Greenland during WW2. (Partly to get better Arctic supply lines to the Soviets, I think? Not sure if it was before or after the Nazis occupied Denmark.) Did the FBU get Iceland as part of the post WW2 horse trading? Like, "give us Iceland and we drop demands for a slice of Japan"?

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It was returned to Denmark post-war since it was held for safe keeping.

 

[Commrade Spartak]

What are the unaffiliated states like?