I have heard from a former military officer in the USSR that this specific example was key to why Perestroika was adopted, and why the USSR fell. The USSR noti

I have heard from a former military officer in the USSR that this specific example was key to why Perestroika was adopted, and why the USSR fell. The USSR noticed that the USA was developing personal computers. So had a 5 year plan to clone some of the personal computers. They succeeded. By which time the USA had personal computers in mass production that were 10x as good. The Soviets studied HOW the Americans were doing it, and Perestroika was their response. However the freedoms created by Perestroika destabilized authoritarian rule and, well, everyone knows the result.