Reply #14: Actually, Afghanistan was their last hurrah. [View All]

[ieoeja]

It provided a rally-round-the-flag moment that, combined with a bellicose Reagan administration, extended popular support for communism a few more years.

As a result of Detente, the Soviet people got their first good look at the West. And what they saw was average Westerners living a lifestyle they could only dream. Add to that the rebellious spirit enjoined by the rock-and-roll era -- a former Soviet Ambassador to the United States claimed The Beatles ultimately brought down the Soviet Union -- and the people began clamoring for change.

Then Reagan became President and tried restoring the Iron Curtain. But PepsiCo, after defeating the Reagan administration in court, opened up a Pizza Hut on Red Square. While this deal served as a proof of concept that you could do business in the Soviet Union, having to take your profits in the form of vodka -- the Ruble was not traded on the open market -- severely limited the amount of business that could be done in the Soviet Union. Accordingly, as soon as the Reagan threat was removed, the Soviets entered the international market and pretty much went bankrupt five seconds later.