Oh, I think the Cold War certainly counts as something. It's a dead certainty that, without U.S. nuclear force and somewhere around half a million U.S. troops in Europe, the Soviet Union would have eaten Western Europe as thoroughly as it ate Eastern Europe. Also, as I type, I'm within a few miles of three former nuclear missile sites. Those didn't magically appear by themselves, dude. How does that count as "nothing"?
I also think that (contrary to your claim that increased trade brought the downfall) if the U.S. hadn't sold the Soviet Union vast amounts of grain beginning in the 1970s, the fall of the USSR would have been much faster, and much, much uglier. Nonetheless, I'm glad that didn't happen. Millions in the U.S.S.R. would have starved to death.
Oh, I think the Cold War certainly counts as something. It's a dead certainty that, without U.S. nuclear force and somewhere around half a million U.S. troops in Europe, the Soviet Union would have eaten Western Europe as thoroughly as it ate Eastern Europe. Also, as I type, I'm within a few miles of three former nuclear missile sites. Those didn't magically appear by themselves, dude. How does that count as "nothing"?
I also think that (contrary to your claim that increased trade brought the downfall) if the U.S. hadn't sold the Soviet Union vast amounts of grain beginning in the 1970s, the fall of the USSR would have been much faster, and much, much uglier. Nonetheless, I'm glad that didn't happen. Millions in the U.S.S.R. would have starved to death.