Whilst it is undeniable that by the mid 1980s the USSR was in a poor state , a lot of contributors on this Forum basically seem to think the socialism itself is a failure and that the best thing to do is to pack up and go home . Some contributors are also remarkably dogmatic even though they think they are immensely creative . They think there was only path for the solution of the USSR's difficulties ; basically a Rightist path . However there are several paths that the USSR could have taken ; it could have reversed the reforms of Khruschov and the early part of the Brezhnev period , it could have turned to the Left or it could have become a more self-assertive or 'nationalistic ' if you like nation and pulled out of SALT talks and scrapped treaties with the US .