Not for a second. As big and as dangerous as they made themselves, they were revealed as posers in the end. Nobody's fretting over the eminent demise of the ruble, we may note.
Yes but still, we have the whole kissy face thing with Chavez and Castro, don't we? It's like a horror movie.
“As big and as dangerous as they made themselves, they were revealed as posers in the end”
Rome eventually fell, too. Doesn’t mean their centuries of hegemony weren’t real. The Soviet Union half-dominated world politics for 45 years. Former satellites, especially China, are still kicking. Can’t take that away from them.