Bessner saying the Soviet Union lost the Cold War because it couldn't keep up with the U.S.'s defense spending is an old and well-worn trope, but one that is not supported by the best available literature. Vladislav Zubok's "Collapse" convincingly shows, from the Russian perspective, why the fall of the Soviet Union really was an event driven by Gorbachev's political incompetence as he tried to follow in Deng's footsteps and slowly unclench the state's fists.
Bessner saying the Soviet Union lost the Cold War because it couldn't keep up with the U.S.'s defense spending is an old and well-worn trope, but one that is not supported by the best available literature. Vladislav Zubok's "Collapse" convincingly shows, from the Russian perspective, why the fall of the Soviet Union really was an event driven by Gorbachev's political incompetence as he tried to follow in Deng's footsteps and slowly unclench the state's fists.