=== I never thought the iron curtain and the Soviet Union would fall in my life time, but they did.
It was very Dramatic, no ... the Way the Wall fell INTO the West.
You need to check your premises. A little time spent studying the stated objectives and strategies of the former Soviets also might be helpful in ascertaining whether they're fans of Sun Tzu and what they meant by: we're not strong enough now but, once we are, we'll launch the greatest peace movement the world has ever seen and -- just when the West least expects it -- crush it with our clenched fist.
Nothing has changed ... unless, of course, you take a close look at closely we now resemble the former Soviet Union in many essential respects.
That's a ridiculous claim.
In the Soviet Union as in many of the formerly Eastern block countries, their problems are huge. However, they enjoy far more liberties and countries like Poland, enjoy a far better (though still way below ours) standard of living.
I have met countless people from that area of the world and have gotten to know some of them very well. While they all acknowledge great difficulties in their respective countries, they say it was far worse when they were children and young adults under the old regime.