# What would Russia be like today if the Tsar remained in power? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937 "2026-09-09T19:00:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spacecadet86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@spacecadet86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spacecadet86)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/1 "2026-09-09T19:00:07Z")
Do you see them being better, or worse off? I imagine they would not be anywhere near as bad as they are now. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/2 "2026-09-09T19:06:27Z")
If the Tsar stayed in power, it seems like they would have fallen to Germany. But assuming that didn’t happen, Russia would probably be even more backwards. There is little signs the Tsars were likely to modernize as much as the West and Japan. The Russians seem to have gone from one terrible government to another to a tiny respite to another awful one under Putin. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/3 "2026-09-09T19:24:43Z")
In what meaningful way is Putin not a Russian Tsar? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/4 "2026-09-09T19:38:56Z")
It’s really impossible to say. The entire global history post 1917 is so intertwined with the existence of the Soviet Union. If you start with Tsar Nichola’s abdication of the throne in March 1917, what if the Grand Duke accepted imperial authority, rather than refusing it? The Bolshevik Revolution would still probably happen, but what if the Whites won, and not the Reds? That gives you a start to developing some sort of alternate timeline. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/5 "2026-09-09T19:39:37Z")
No part of the bloodline and no designated relative as an heir. He’s a despot, but a different type. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/6 "2026-09-09T22:37:13Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > If the Tsar stayed in power, it seems like they would have fallen to Germany. If WW2 even took place. Every action has its equal and opposite reaction; would the Nazis and Fascists have come to power if the West weren’t so afraid of the Communists? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/7 "2026-09-10T18:18:28Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > If the Tsar stayed in power, it seems like they would have fallen to Germany. But assuming that didn’t happen, Russia would probably be even more backwards. They sorta did anyway- the **Treaty of Brest-Litovsk** basically had Russia surrendering to Germany > **[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk)** > > The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, which followed months of negotiations after the armistice on the Eastern Front in December 1917, was signed at Brest-Litovsk (now Brest, Belarus). The Soviet delegation was initially headed by Adolph Joffe, and key figures from the Central Powers included Max Hoffman... > [@Alessan](#): > > If WW2 even took place. Every action has its equal and opposite reaction; would the Nazis and Fascists have come to power if the West weren’t so afraid of the Communists? Maybe, since one of the main causes for the Nazis was the **Treaty of Versailles**. But maybe Hitler would not have come to power, and just another Right Wing Populist would have been voted in. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/8 "2026-09-10T18:39:44Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > No part of the bloodline and no designated relative as an heir. > > He’s a despot, but a different type. Plus, Putin came to power after ~70 years of Communist/Soviet rule, after the monarchy had been deposed. The OP’s question seems to be more like, “what would Russia be like today if the Tsar had never been removed, and it never had become a communist state?” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/9 "2026-09-10T18:44:05Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “what would Russia be like today if the Tsar had never been removed, and it never had become a communist state?” After WW1, if the White Russians won the Tsar would be been more like a figurehead. They could have turned into a Military dictatorship, at least for a while. Extensively debated here- > **[Had the White Army won, how would they have governed Russia?](https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/had-the-white-army-won-how-would-they-have-governed-russia.533126/)** > > Let us suppose that Fanny Kaplan assassinates Lenin in August 1918, and Trotsky captured and executed by the Whites early in 1919, as he nearly was. Without Lenin's political or Trotsky's military leadership, the Red Army ends up losing the Russian... ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/10 "2026-09-11T02:54:56Z")
I wonder what would’ve happened had the mensheviks remained in power instead of the bolsheviks. The Mensheviks were more like a european leftist party. They wanted capitalism with reforms and safeguards. Had they remained in charge, things probably would be far better in Russia today. Stalin seems to have caused a lot of long term psychological damage in Russia. FWIW, I’ve read that Russia has a long history of being invaded, which creates a sense of fatalism among Russians about building or investing, since it can all be torn down in an invasion. There is supposedly a strong strain of fatalism and learned helplessness in Russia due to the invasion and the legacy of communism. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > If the Tsar stayed in power, it seems like they would have fallen to Germany. Stalin killed most of the military leadership because he was terrified of a coup. As a result, the military was fairly inept when the war started. > [https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/joseph-stalins-paranoid-purge/](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/joseph-stalins-paranoid-purge/) > > The scale of the purge was staggering: 13 of 15 army commanders, 50 of 57 corps commanders, 154 of 186 divisional commanders, 220 of 406 brigade commanders, all 11 vice-commanders of defense, 98 of 108 members of the Supreme Military Soviets, all army political commissars, 25 of 28 corps commissars, 58 of 64 divisional commissars. Even the lower ranks were not spared: almost half the colonels and 7,403 captains fell victim to the purge. “This is worse than when artillery fires on its own troops,” commented General Konstantin Rokossovsky. More Soviet generals and colonels were killed by Stalin than were to fall in World War II. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/11 "2026-09-11T04:39:13Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The Mensheviks were more like a european leftist party. They were- sadly- out of the picture. It was gonna be White or Red, and that wasnt wine choices. The Mensheviks had no army. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > FWIW, I’ve read that Russia has a long history of being invaded, which creates a sense of fatalism among Russians about building or investing, since it can all be torn down in an invasion. Same with Poland only more. At least every invasion of Russia since the Mongols failed. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > There is supposedly a strong strain of fatalism and learned helplessness in Russia due to the invasion and the legacy of communism. I think more the legacy of serfdom- then communism. Went from “you have no rights” to “you have no rights, but we will pretend you do”. They had no hope, no way out except vodka. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/12 "2026-09-11T08:26:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > , no way out except vodka. Which was sold by the government. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-russia-be-like-today-if-the-tsar-remained-in-power/1032937/13 "2026-09-12T15:19:06Z")
If the Tsar hadn’t been raised by arch-monarchists and convinced he had to hold onto power at all costs, he could have worked with centrist and left-leaning politicians to arrange a transition into a civilian-led government, and peacefully faded into the background as a figurehead. Then again, Nicholas II could’ve sprouted wings and flown off into the sunset, which was an equally likely alternative.