In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, which brought about an end to the Cold War. How did involvement in the Cold War lead to the economic decline of the Soviet Union?​

The Soviet Union was supposed to be “a society of true democracy,” but in many ways it was no less repressive than the czarist autocracy that preceded it. It was ruled by a single party–the Communist Party–that demanded the allegiance of every Russian citizen. After 1924, when the dictator Joseph Stalin came to power, the state exercised totalitarian control over the economy, administering all industrial activity and establishing collective farms. It also controlled every aspect of political and social life. People who argued against Stalin’s policies were arrested and sent to labor camps known as gulags or executed.

After Stalin’s death in 1953, Soviet leaders denounced his brutal policies but maintained the Communist Party’s power. They focused in particular on the Cold War with Western powers, engaging in a costly and destructive “arms race” with the United States while exercising military force to suppress anticommunism and extend its hegemony in Eastern Europe.

"choosing is refusing" means individuals face an opportunity cost with each decision they make. economists state that every decision involves trade-offs. opportunity cost is the least desirable alternative given up as a result of a decision.

european feudalism was a combination of legal and military customs in medieval europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.

japanese feudalism. the era of feudalism in japan took place from the 12th through 19th centuries. during that period local rulers, either powerful families or military warlords, dominated the land, while the emperor was merely a figurehead and not a significant political presence.