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Originally Posted by Bobblehead
I think Reagan gets more credit than he is due for the collapse. There were a lot of factors that lead to the fall, and the eastern block's apparatus couldn't maintain hold. I think Reagan may have hastened it, and for that he should be applauded, but his election to office didn't suddenly bring an end to to iron curtain.
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I agree. He gets way too much credit.
There were things happening within the Soviet Union that had nothing to do with Reagan. The fact that their agricultural science was based on Lamarckian genetics, which decreased their ability to be self-sustaining was a major factor. Nationalism in the Baltic states and within Russia was another. Weak leadership was a another.
Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech is over-emphasized. The USSR was well on the decline at that point. Not that the arms race didn't play a roll, but the Soviet government was foolish and that helped.