Ryan's Reviews > Armageddon Averted: The Soviet Collapse, 1970-2000

An amazing period of time and a good book about it, showing why due to internal dynamics within the Soviet system collapse happened as it did, and how due to some exceptionally good luck, etc. things ended relatively safely. The 1990s remain a massive missed opportunity leading to the rise of Putin, but the 70s and 80s were essentially driven by economic and political dynamics within the Soviet empire.

It's interesting how the Communist Party essentially replicated all the organs of state internally in each country, and the path of each former Soviet state largely depended on the Communist Party within that state at time of collapse.