"yet its people were immensely proud of advances in Korea/Afghanistan/Vietnam/Egypt and whatever other warzone the USSR was involved at that time" Afghanistan

"yet its people were immensely proud of advances in Korea/Afghanistan/Vietnam/Egypt and whatever other warzone the USSR was involved at that time" Afghanistan was in late 1970-s, I mean come on. Egypt before that but pretty far from ruins period. One can probably only claim it about Korean War.