ABSTRACT
A problem that must have become all the more pressing for the Soviet leaders could be called the end of ideology. Over time, an increasing number of stated objectives were eventually realized, albeit at a frighteningly slow pace when compared with the West. But the empty promises of the ideology that the Soviet Union would overtake the West in wealth and freedom remained empty promises, and it became all the more obvious that they could not be fulfilled. The result was that the ideology lost credibility and started out on the road to ruin.
