[YLYvYkHeB2NRNT]

> … but without a Soviet boogeyman to keep Uncle Sam’s pocketbook upturned and shaking, it became an incredibly expensive and sometimes problematic solution to a problem nobody had anymore.

This says a lot about our world. Just look outside.

[psychphysic]

Russia's performance in Ukraine has been so abysmal I believe Western war hawks are most offended.

[V_Terranova_Jr]

Cold war Russia and today's Russia are two different beasts. Also, Russia's strategy of deliberate large-scale brutality against civilians to win military conflicts still motivates the drive to nullify their military capabilities as quickly as possible.

[Aloha]

This.

The Soviet Union had vast excess capacity to scale its army, build more armaments, etc. All of that went away as unaffordable when the Union collapsed.