With a POD after the beginning of WWII, is it possible for Stalin to Finlandize all of Eastern Europe rather than establishing subservient Communist governments? I presume transit and possibly basing rights would be required since East Germany will still be occupied. A further WI, might the West accept the idea of a unified, demilitarized Germany (e.g. the Stalin note) if there is evidence that Soviet 'satellites' are being permitted democratic self-governance?
(Inspired by the Eastern Europe for Asia trade thread)
There is a reason to believe that this was actually what Stalin intended. He used to groom communist movements in other countries but somewhere around 1938 the tune changed - the foreign communists in USSR were placed under close surveillance, many of them were arrested, some killed. At least Czechoslovakia remained democratic (though within Soviet sphere of influence) until late 1948 when the elected government fell to a Communist coup. It seems that the coup was domestically engineered, not ordered by Moscow - but of course USSR didn't have any other course of option but to recognize the new Communist government instantly (or lose face in a really bad way).
Czechoslovakia was entertaining close relations with Soviet Union before WW2, so it wasn't really necessary for Stalin. In other countries, installing communists into local government was pretty much the only way to ensure a government leaning towards USSR in a very anti-Soviet resp. anti-Russian environment (e.g. Poland, Romania, Hungary). Even there, local communists movements were often dependent on USSR for supplies but were not necessary just local extensions of the KPSU. Tito was an extreme case of differences, but by far not the only one.
