How televising the 1987 NBA finals helped destroy the USSR

[Hamartia Antidote]

Russian citizen giving us an interesting tidbit..

TLDR version
The Soviet propaganda machine (with its own "Great Wall" of closed and controlled media) had long portrayed the West as a poor unhappy society. Very few Russians had ever seen any type of Western media (other than maybe The Day After) as VCRs were uncommon and certainly there was nothing like sharing digital video files or youtube. Basically all you had was books.

That changed in 1987 (due to an interest the Russians had with basketball) when the Soviet Government allowed the NBA Finals to be televised. The sharp-eyed Russians not only were watching the players on the court but also noticed the happy spectators in the stands and the tv commercials (something new to them) for the latest consumer products/cars...this then made them immediately question the validity of the official narrative which had been sold to them for decades.

This questioning of the credibility of the state was the trigger that led to the fall of the Soviet Union.

Here is him saying the bottom line

 

[Beast]

That is why China is the most beloved country with their highly affordable consumer products access to the global. Without China , the mass cannot enjoy many of those fanciful consumer goods and great lifestyle.

I still remember in the 90s laptop are luxurious products, all not made in China but Japan, Singapore or partially in US.

High quality takara transformer toy made in Japan cost a bomb.

Now, a DJI top quality drone cost only few hundreds. Transformer toy better build than Japan cost less than $100 can be purchase easily.

The world shall thank China for providing globe with great value products for us to live and enjoy our lifestyle.

Thank you China.

 

[INS_Vikrant]

Gorbachev tried to save USSR through his reforms which ended up being one of the biggest reason of its collapse

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I still remember in the 90s laptop are luxurious products, all not made in China but Japan, Singapore or partially in US.

They weren't that luxurious as commercials for them were common. Maybe for the average Chinese citizen it was a luxory. Also China likely had tariffs on non-Chinese imported goods to screw their consumers.

1996 Toshiba commercial.

1995 IBM Thinkpad commercial

One reason laptops didn't take off instantly in popularity in the 1990's was because they didn't appeal to a large segment of computer purchasers who were gamers as they wanted a decently powered 2D/3D graphics card paired with a fast CPU.
This just wasn't happening in the 1990's. I don't think any maker had a 3D card in the 1990's that could fit into a laptop. Even a Riva 128 or ATI Wonder wouldn't fit.

Also Microsoft started toying with how to make their OS more fancy and that required the GPU on a 3D card thus accelerating development.

It was really in the 2000's that the laptop market took off as companies like nVidia were able to shrink their cards down making laptops appeal to a wider audience.

Ask most people today if they'd buy a laptop with a crappy videocard and they'll say no way.

 

[Beast]

They weren't that luxurious as commercials for them were common. Maybe for the average Chinese citizen it was a luxory. Also China likely had tariffs on non-Chinese imported goods to screw their consumers.

1996 Toshiba commercial.

1995 IBM Thinkpad commercial

One reason laptops didn't take off instantly in popularity in the 1990's was because they didn't appeal to a large segment of computer purchasers who were gamers as they wanted a decently powered 2D/3D graphics card paired with a fast CPU.
This just wasn't happening in the 1990's. I don't think any maker had a 3D card in the 1990's that could fit into a laptop. Even a Riva 128 or ATI Wonder wouldn't fit.

Also Microsoft started toying with how to make their OS more fancy and that required the GPU on a 3D card thus accelerating development.

It was really in the 2000's that the laptop market took off as companies like nVidia were able to shrink their cards down making laptops appeal to a wider audience.

Ask most people today if they'd buy a laptop with a crappy videocard and they'll say no way.

Price is a massive factor that deter people from getting a laptop. It is only when made in China laptop comes, the prices significantly come down and laptop become mainstream.

Gorbachev tried to save USSR through his reforms which ended up being one of the biggest reason of its collapse

He is misled that being soft will make Russian more tolerant to his reform and he is wrong.

Deng is strong and he knows his reform need time. He paid no mercy to critics and future proves his decision is correct.