this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2026
53 points (98.2% liked)

Today I learned

14551 readers
30 users here now

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
sonder@lemmy.ml
53
TIL that the CIA helped fund the Abstract Expressionism movement in order to fuel propaganda and win the Cold war. (www.bbc.com)
submitted 4 days ago by HoneyMustardGas@lemmy.world to c/todayilearned@lemmy.ml
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I hope BBC is a credible source because I read it all the time.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social -1 points 4 days ago

Realistically, the Soviet leadership crashed the system.

The Afghan War was supposed to be a walkover. Turned into a quagmire. They couldn't get rid of Poland's Solidarity Union, or Pope John Paul II.

Three leaders died during Reagan's term.

Chernobyl was another sign that the entire architecture was getting ready to collapse.

Gorbachev tried to modernize the bureaucracy, but oldtimers who'd been holding onto power for decades weren't going to give up without a fight.

Plenty of americans will claim that Reagan destroyed the USSR, but that's just propaganda they've chosen to swallow.