Michael Swanson

“the meeting riding in a limo and left driving a Volga sedan. Later in the evening, Khrushchev told Mikoyan, “Could anyone have dreamed of telling Stalin that he didn’t suit us anymore and suggesting that he retire? Not even a wet spot would have remained where he had been standing. Now everything’s different…‌That’s my contribution.”303”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

“In hindsight, looking back from today, we can tell that the rate of Soviet economic growth actually peaked in the late 1950s and entered a downward spiral until it ultimately collapsed in the 1980s. This trend was only interrupted by an increase in oil prices in the 1970s, which helped Russia generate profits from the export of oil. In 1962, meat production ended up being only 40 percent of what the Soviets expected it to be. By the start of 1963, Khrushchev gave speeches preparing people for the reality that their standard of living was not going to go up as fast as he had promised, blaming it on the Cold War.243”
― Michael Swanson, The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963