ABSTRACT
The end of the cold war came as a great surprise to politicians in the West and the experts alike. The Cold War ended as the Soviet Empire collapsed. The Soviet Empire collapsed because of a breakdown in self-confidence on the part of its rulers and the mistaken belief that the Soviet system could be reformed. The quality of life deteriorated rapidly all over the Soviet Union, alcoholism and crime increased, as did child mortality, and the health of the population and life expectancy palpably declined. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, a great many sources have come to light, especially in the Eastern capitals, and there has been a rethinking of this whole period on the part of Russian public figures and historians. As the cold war ended, there was another sharp turn in the argumentation of the revisionists. It was claimed that the Soviet "threat" had been mythical all along.
