History Main / RussiaTakesOverTheWorld

* ''Literature/FearLoathingAndGumboOnTheCampaignTrailSeventyTwo'', a story from Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom, accomplishes this by reversing the Soviet Union's fall. Influenced by a clique of Western-trained socialist economists, the USSR starting in TheSeventies embraces an "MBA communism" similar to the reforms carried out in our own history by China, with much the same result (i.e. economic liberalization and growth while retaining an authoritarian government), helped by the exploitation of its vast natural resources to buy favor in Western Europe. The US, meanwhile, endures economic and political strife during that decade before being taken over by far-right corporate plutocrats in TheEighties, and quickly finds itself succumbing to the same pressures that brought down the Soviets in our own history: economic mismanagement at home (in this case by {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s instead of [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucratic central planners]]) leads to a collapse in living standards for working-class Americans, and the fact that the US in this timeline ''won'' UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar leads to a bad case of [[{{Pride}} victory disease]] as it engages in budget-busting military adventurism on multiple continents that only gives Western Europe more reason to leave NATO and engage in their own ''detente'' with Moscow. As [[FallenStatesOfAmerica the US plunges into chaos]] by the end of the '80s, the Soviet Union emerges as the world's sole superpower.

* This is what "Webcomic/BillNyeTheRussianSpy" wants.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'': The expansion campaign ''Thrones and Patriots'' has a UsefulNotes/ColdWar campaign where you can diverge heavily from history to ensure that the Soviets dominate the globe.

* ''Series/{{Sliders}}'': The pilot episode involves an alternate timeline where the Soviet Union took over most of the world, including the United States. When asked, the local explain that it all started when the US lost UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, and the Domino Theory became reality.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint of how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. The content itself, however, is far from deep or insightful, reading more like a Russian neo-imperialistic power fantasy than a serious political work. (Germany, for instance, will supposedly be happy to become Russia's ally if Russia "gives" Germany hegemony over Central Europe. This absurd supposition is just the start.) Dugin himself is an open supporter of fascism with an interest in neopaganism and the occult. Nevertheless, Dugin is influential in Russia, and his work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint of how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. The content itself, however, is far from deep or insightful, reading more like a Russian neo-imperialistic power fantasy than a serious political work. (Germany, for instance, will supposedly be happy to become Russia's ally if Russia "gives" Germany hegemony over Central Europe. This absurd supposition is just the start.) Dugin himself is an open supporter of fascism with an interest in neopaganism and the occult. Nevertheless, Dugin is highly influential in Russia, and his work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint of how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. The content itself, however, is far from deep or insightful, reading more like a Russian neo-imperialistic power fantasy rather than a serious political work. (Germany, for instance, will supposedly be happy to become Russia's ally if Russia "gives" Germany hegemony over Central Europe. This absurd supposition is just the start.) Dugin himself is an open supporter of fascism with an interest in neopaganism and the occult. Nevertheless, Dugin is highly influential in Russia, and his work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

If you have an rather forgiving definition of "empire", however, and see all Communist states in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as an extension of Moscow's will, then the Russians came closest to this in the early years of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar with numerous client and satellite states. That is, until the Sino-Soviet split, which also led to greater independence for Yugoslavia and Albania. However, the Soviet Union at the height of its influence was led by Stalin, a Georgian (albeit a Russified one).
* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint on how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. The content itself, however, is far from deep or insightful, reading more like a Russian neo-imperialistic power fantasy rather than a serious political work. (Germany, for instance, will supposedly be happy to become Russia's ally if Russia "gives" Germany hegemony over Central Europe. This absurd supposition is just the start.) Dugin himself is an open supporter of fascism with an interest in neopaganism and the occult. Nevertheless, Dugin is highly influential in Russia, and his work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[Creator/KarlMarx Workers of the world, unite!]]]]

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint on how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. The content itself, however, is far from deep or insightful, reading more like a Russian neo-imperialistic power fantasy rather than a serious political work. (Germany, for instance, will supposedly be happy to become Russia's ally if Russia "gives" Germany hegemony over Central Europe. This absurd supposition is just the start.) Dugin himself is an open supporter of fascism with an interest in neopaganism and the occult. Nevertheless, Dugin's work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint on how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. The content itself, however, is far from deep or insightful, displaying an astounding immaturity in socio-political and military matters. (Germany, for instance, will supposedly be happy to become Russia's ally if Russia "gives" Germany hegemony over Central Europe. This absurd supposition is just the start.) Dugin himself is an open supporter of fascism with an interest in neopaganism and the occult. Nevertheless, Dugin's work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint on how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values. Dugin's work has been warmly received by many high-level Russian military officials, and allegedly even inside the Kremlin.

If you have an EXTREMELY forgiving definition of "empire", however, and saw all Communist states in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as an extension of Moscow's will, then the Russians came closest to this in the early years of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar with numerous allied and satellite states. That is, until the Sino-Soviet split, which also led to greater independence for Yugoslavia and Albania. However, the Soviet Union at the height of its influence was led by Stalin, a Georgian (albeit a Russian loving Georgian).

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics Foundations of Geopolitics]]'' is a book written by the Russian far-right political analyst Aleksandr Dugin that purports to be a blueprint on how Russia can accomplish this, namely by fracturing the United States' international alliance system and building alliances with countries and political movements hostile to American power and values.

[[caption-width-right:350: "Workers of the world, unite!"]]

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev''' (to Vice President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon)

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cncra2_install_gww2.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350: "Workers of the World, Unite"]]

* ''Literature/FearLoathingAndGumboOnTheCampaignTrailSeventyTwo'', a story from Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom, accomplishes this by reversing TheGreatPoliticsMessUp. Influenced by a clique of Western-trained socialist economists, the USSR starting in TheSeventies embraces an "MBA communism" similar to the reforms carried out in our own history by China, with much the same result (i.e. economic liberalization and growth while retaining an authoritarian government), helped by the exploitation of its vast natural resources to buy favor in Western Europe. The US, meanwhile, endures economic and political strife during that decade before being taken over by far-right corporate plutocrats in TheEighties, and quickly finds itself succumbing to the same pressures that brought down the Soviets in our own history: economic mismanagement at home (in this case by {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s instead of [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucratic central planners]]) leads to a collapse in living standards for working-class Americans, and the fact that the US in this timeline ''won'' UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar leads to a bad case of [[{{Pride}} victory disease]] as it engages in budget-busting military adventurism on multiple continents that only gives Western Europe more reason to leave NATO and engage in their own ''detente'' with Moscow. As [[FallenStatesOfAmerica the US plunges into chaos]] by the end of the '80s, the Soviet Union emerges as the world's sole superpower.

Some of the October revolutionaries did envision a global Soviet Union, but primarily effected through a worldwide revolution of the working classes, not through Russian conquest alone. For a long time Lenin even looked to ''Germany'' as the inevitable leader of the worker's revolution (it was, after all, the birthplace of Karl Marx, as well as perceived as the most industrialized western nation) until he realized that it wasn't gonna happen, and Stalin eventually codified the doctrine of "Communism in one country". As it is an anti-nationalist ideology at its roots (even if practice was... complicated), it's extremely doubtful that the theorized communist world state would privilege any particular nation.\\

* ZigzaggingTrope in real life. While the Russian Empire at its height did cover about 1/6 of the Earth's landmass, no Russian state has seriously entertained the notion of taking over even Europe, let alone the world. Historians and analysts often characterize Russian expansionism as 'defensive imperialism' because it is driven by a perceived vulnerability to neighbouring states rather than simple desire for conquest. The Eurasian plains are a wide open area with few natural barriers, so Russian leaders have considered it necessary to directly control the numerous access points utilized by invading armies.\\

* This is the premise of the "Pivot theory" in geopolitics developed by the British geographer Halford Mackinder in the early 20th century. Essentially, since Eurasia is the largest landmass in the world, (successful) world conquest would inevitably proceed from the center area and expand outwards into the periphery. Through the German geographer Karl Haushofer, it was relayed to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, who used it to justify [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII his war against the Soviet Union]]. However, the theory has since been discredited as, among ''many'' other flaws, it critically understates the economic costs of railway systems compared to utilizing natural waterways. There's a reason why the US, and not Russia, is the current world hegemon.[[note]]The Mississippi basin is a superhighway that doesn't freeze over in winter, plus hundreds of miles of port-suitable coastline.[[/note]]

* ''The Gladiator'', one of the novels in Creator/HarryTurtledove's Crosstime Traffic series, is set in Italy after the Soviet Union [[AlternateHistory won the Cold War]] and the whole planet became communist.

* ZigzaggingTrope in real life. While the Russian Empire at its height did cover about 1/6 of the Earth's landmass, no Russian state has seriously entertained the notion of taking over even Europe, let alone the world. Russian geopolitics is often characterized as 'defensive imperialism' because it is driven by a perceived vulnerability to neighbouring states rather than simple desire for conquest. The Eurasian plains are a wide open area with few natural barriers, so Russian leaders have considered it necessary to directly control the numerous access points utilized by invading armies.\\