you're not wrong. to paraphrase a line from an old conspiracy film... you can get away with anything as long as your side of the coup wins. but you have to win. but going back to your original comment  , you're not wrong about the decay within the soviet union. like china or north korea, the system doesn't reward those who are most productive, but those who can fake productivity the best. i am reminded of a ronald reagan joke:   e87y65ls
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