The Great Cold War population switcharoo (RAR!)

[Zor]

In this scenario, on January 1st, 1960 something happens to everyone in the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Namely, they switch places. Every soviet citizen on US soil ends up in the United States of America. Every soviet citizen ends up in the USSR. The people in the largest US cities end up in the largest Soviet cities and vice versa. On the same note Soviet Farmers end up on US farms, US farmers end up Soviet Farms. Prisoners go to prisons. They come with only the clothes on their backs, as well as everyone getting a book called Russian and Cyrillic 101 or Английский и латинский алфавит 101.

What happens?

Zor

[K. A. Pital]

World economic collapse. Also, possibly war.

[Borgholio]

Yeah pretty much complete international clusterfuck.

[Welf]

As said before world economy collapses. Without their tools and their knowledge of local territory farmers can't produce as much food as before. And the distribution would be difficult. Pretty much all companies in US and USSR would collapse because their established organizations would stop to exist.
There would be massive migration of people to get back to their homes and to places with jobs and food like western Europe and South America.
The political order within USA and USSR would collapse, since no one is at the place they should be. The US citizens would reorganize sooner, because their system is built more on private initiative and is stronger at the community level. There will be a lot of insurgencies and civil war,
There will massive lose of population in the territories of USSR and USA because of migration and starvation. Both will end up with a mix of Russians and Americans.
The concept of state socialism as practised in the USSR will cease to exist as model, and the democratic system as practised in the USA and other western countries will be doubted and massively reformed. Because everyone on Earth just witnessed divine intervention on a global scale. The idea of atheism or separation of state and church will suddenly look idiotic. And not because of some abstract thought or superstition, but because the wrong believe might kill dozens of millions. Since the atheistic USSR and the (at that time) predominantly protestant USA were affected I think Catholicism and Islam will expand.
There might be a colonial grab between Islamic countries, European/catholic countries and china for the territories of the USSR.
No idea how china would react to this, if this would turn Maoism into a explicitly religious system or if they turn back to traditional spiritual believes or if nothing happens. But likely they will annex Siberia.
Mexico and Canada might take over the US territories. Not at first, but maybe later when food shortage and civil strife create chaos there anyway.

[Irbis]

What happens to massive forward deployments of USA in WE and USSR in EE? Because, you know, 3 million Soviet/allied WP soldiers then can effortlessly overrun "USA" while US forces in West Germany and UK can do basically little to nothing about this. Also, does it happen before, or after final Sino-Soviet split? Because if before, you have another 3 million invading new USA from east, too, and possible quick (if no one uses nukes) fall of capitalist world as then WP basically annexed USA without serious fight.

[K. A. Pital]

What happens to massive forward deployments of USA in WE and USSR in EE? Because, you know, 3 million Soviet/allied WP soldiers then can effortlessly overrun "USA" while US forces in West Germany and UK can do basically little to nothing about this. Also, does it happen before, or after final Sino-Soviet split? Because if before, you have another 3 million invading new USA from east, too, and possible quick (if no one uses nukes) fall of capitalist world as then WP basically annexed USA without serious fight.

"Invading from the East" using what, emigration boats? PRC had no real navy to speak of. WP states would probably take the lead inside WP - the USSR would be gone, and its territory would very soon be depopulated (Americans won't survive the winters in Siberia very well, they'd be dropping dead like flies very soon). The East European states wouldn't risk a nuclear war (France and Britain had their own nuclear arsenals).

[Irbis]

"Invading from the East" using what, emigration boats? PRC had no real navy to speak of. WP states would probably take the lead inside WP - the USSR would be gone, and its territory would very soon be depopulated (Americans won't survive the winters in Siberia very well, they'd be dropping dead like flies very soon). The East European states wouldn't risk a nuclear war (France and Britain had their own nuclear arsenals).

I said 'new USA'. "Before" = acting in step with Warsaw Pact, that is invading in Siberia, the only area where USA could mount effective resistance (as now whole population of California would be there). No boats needed, unless you count river ones.

As for WP states taking the lead, abundance of consumer goods and mild climate in new Soviet Union in America would lead to the Soviets eventually rebuilding and taking lead back, unless of course WP states decide to desert them en masse. France and Britain largely don't count as they were supposed to supplement US arsenal, with it gone I don't think they would throw it away to stop WP invading ex-Russian territory (doubly so with France on the verge of leaving NATO). WP states had forward deployed Soviet nukes of their own, and West Europe would have little to gain by initiating nuclear exchange in Europe only while not even defending their own territory.

[K. A. Pital]

Oh, "new USA"... That thing will be gone. Also, there's more industrial capital per person in the US, so when dislocating Soviets there, they'd have an advantage obviously. Milder climate, at the very least.

New USA is quite likely to be destroyed unless someone (Britain?) wants to initiate a nuclear war over it.

The self-destruction of new USA, with corresponding mass death due to climate change is certain.