They also got burned by the collapse of the oil market in the 1980s. In 1984 they were producing ~11 million barrels per day and the market price was ~$75.00 per barrel. By 1993 they had dropped to just over 6 million barrels per day at ~$35.00 per barrel, so the value of the oil they were pumping dropped by $600 million per day, or over $200 billion per year. I don't know how long it would have helped, but they would have benefited from a more aggressive Hussein attacking Saudi Arabian oil wells. A combination of hardliners taking over and reversing Gorbachev's policies and an economic boost from an oil spike might have allowed the Soviet Union to muddle along a bit longer.
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The poster formerly known as The Dark
The Vespers War - Ninety years before the Twilight War, there was the Vespers War.
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