Military Security in the Post-Communist Age: Reflections on Myths and Misperceptions

Abstract

The fall of the Empire came exceedingly fast; in a brief two years span, the Soviet realm shrunk to its core. Gone was Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, the Soviet ‘interest zones’ in Africa and the Far East. Soviet troops were streaming back to the Motherland, selling off or leaving rusted machinery and new Kalashnikovs alike. The military-political alliance known as the Warsaw Pact was no more. Eastern Europe became free, practically overnight. Death came to the Soviet Empire fast; as in the case of so many empires previously, the imminent collapse was almost unnoticeable until the very last minute. The outward declaration of independence from the former hegemone, the disappearance of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, the end of the Warsaw Pact were all parts of the process; the external empire of the Soviets simply fell apart. For Eastern Europe’s communist leaders the prospect that the Soviet Army was going home was shattering; it was simply unbelievable.