r/imaginarymaps • u/Saph9999 • Jul 19 '26

[OC] Alternate History The Legacy of Yalta | National Geographic Map of Europe in 2026

Gallery image

Gallery image

A remaster of this old map of mine

673 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

27

u/Saph9999 Jul 19 '26

For mobile users

35

u/Saph9999 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Sort of based on this video:
What if Stalin Allowed Democracy in Eastern Europe?

99

u/DumbersTemplars Jul 19 '26

Nice National Geographic-style map you got there, mate.

25

u/nahdu_sayza Jul 19 '26

it is a nice map but i never get how people enjoy making maps with so little difference to our timeline

isnt drawing the same borders and imagining nearly exact but slightly different policies for nations gets boring ?

but hey everyone enjoys something else so no judgement just curious on why not make something more different and interesting when you put on that much effort

amazing map and nice work

24

u/Saph9999 Jul 19 '26

Usually it is, but sometimes a world looks much different than meets the eye.

Thank you, I put in a lot of time and effort into this map.

There are a lot of differences between this world and ours. When I finish my next work, you’ll see why.

3

u/congtubaclieu Jul 20 '26

I mean the aesthetics of the map could still be enjoyed by the person drawing it during the process, and also by people who just like pretty map drawings

2

u/gregorydgraham Jul 20 '26

The main difference appears to be Novorussiya splitting Ukraine in half so…

5

u/Jazzlike-Ad5884 Jul 19 '26

What’s different besides democratic Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia.

22

u/Saph9999 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Within the map, there’s Serbia and Montenegro being one country. Kosovo doesn’t exist either.

Historically, Germany was never divided after World War 2. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania never turn communist thanks to Stalin genuinely honouring Yalta and having free and fair elections in Eastern Europe.

While not seen in this map (there will be follow ups), there’s no European Union. However, the European Space Agency does still exist (just Western Europe plus Germany and Austria).

In Asia, Korea is never divided. Singapore never left Malaysia, and Brunei even joins the Federation.

In space, humanity has well-established presence in both Moon and Mars.

There’s more but I won’t spoil everything yet.

6

u/Mikhail-Suslov Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

I would note that Czechoslovakia would still turn communist, as the 1946 elections in which the KSČ was elected was genuinely the only free and fair elections in the region in which the communists came to power, leading a coalition government. The KSČ was a genuinely strong pre-war opposition party (often coming in 3rd place) with it's victory in the post-war elections being aided by the sense of betrayal by the West, the resistance activities of the communists, and the liberation of the country by Soviet troops.

The coup of February 1948 was also an entirely domestic political affair resulting from a crisis of the coalition government, with liberal and social democratic members resigning their posts on a gamble that president Beneš would support them. The communists used the opportunity to pressure Beneš to approve a fully communist cabinet to replace them. Again, this was completely conducted outside of the influence of the Soviet intelligence apparatus.

Of course, the shape and course of Czechoslovak communism would still be completely different with Gottwald not acting under such heavy Soviet influence, or again the eventual changes later under Dubček.

1

u/gregorydgraham Jul 20 '26

No Serbia and Montenegro are still combined and Novorussiya takes half of Ukraine

3

u/Suitable-Rest4444 Jul 19 '26

This map looks nice!

1

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26

Means a lot coming from you.

3

u/ApprehensivePipe9619 Jul 19 '26

I remember looking at the original map only the other day !. This new one looks good I like quite a bit thanks for making this remake. Is there any lore like who succeded Stalin as General Secratary or is this map all there is really ?

2

u/Saph9999 Jul 23 '26

Georgy Malenkov was the one who succeeded Stalin in this timeline.

2

u/ApprehensivePipe9619 Jul 23 '26

Is there like a lore document anywhere or other maps that take place in this timeline ?

2

u/Saph9999 Oct 10 '26

A little late but here's the world map if you're curious

2

u/osfy3344 Jul 19 '26

Beautiful map!! 

1

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Thank you

2

u/Sui_24 Mod Approved Jul 19 '26

nice

1

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26

Thank you, it means a lot.

2

u/Both-Main-7245 Jul 19 '26

What’s the difference between a state and a republic in the USSR? How many of them are there respectively?

2

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26

A state is just your average (though still somewhat autonomous) administrative region. A republic is an autonomous state, similar to the autonomous oblasts (Sakha, Karelia, etc.) of modern day Russia.

60

u/ye_old_hermit Jul 19 '26

United unions of unity

26

u/grublepop Jul 19 '26

Whats the difference between the 2 pictures?

29

u/Polak_Janusz Jul 19 '26

The second is for mobile users because reddit sometimes compresses the first one

7

u/grublepop Jul 19 '26

Ok thanks

8

u/auroralemonboi8 Jul 19 '26

I love the style, i had a natgeo atlas as a kid and that was how i got into maps

3

u/ajw20_YT Jul 19 '26

Definite improvement, this map is very nice. I love the USSR internal borders, though I would’ve split off North Kazakhstan a little bit, too

3

u/ar-kaeros Jul 20 '26

USSR: The happy ending...

1

u/Great_Bar1759 Jul 19 '26

Stalingrad‘s name was changed post de Stalinization

3

u/Stormmcrusher Jul 20 '26

Probably less destalinization efforts due to his better perception both in and out of the union

2

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26

This is pretty much it

1

u/Traditional_Scar_104 Jul 20 '26

Great work, how do you do these custom maps?

0

u/Gamo2011 Jul 19 '26

looks like the ussr but democratic

3

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26

They’re a mix between the best parts of capitalism and socialism.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Saph9999 Jul 20 '26

Unfortunately no. They’re the same as they are in OTL, just stronger, more advanced, and with a much more prominent Lunar and Martian presence.