The Soviet economy was not near collapse, but it couldn't keep up with our commitment to increasing military spending and funding research and development, especially the Strategic Defense Initiative. With military spending at about 25% of Soviet GNP, increasing consumer unrest, and the explosion of the black market, reformers were able to gain control of the government, in an effort to lull the West into complacency, and to resuscitate the economy. However, as glasnost shattered the last bits of Soviet legitimacy, and perestroika proved to be too little, too late, the system began to crumble. Gorbachev mainly survived because of his relative success in dealing with Reagan, but eventually the Politburo sought his removal, and it was the Russian people, most especially the people of Moscow, who supported Yeltsin who brought the system crashing down.
As you know, I am not sure that this picture - especially the part of it that concerns the US policies of the time - is entirely accurate. I do hope that someday we can coax Joan into exposing her opinion on the subject; since she knows more about Russia than all of the rest of us combined, it would be interesting to know what she thinks.
reformers were able to gain control of the government, in an effort to lull the West into complacency
This sounds to me like a bit of a stretch. |
