Also, if communist countries hadn't had to scramble to build up defensive capacity against the imminent threat of imperialism, they probably would have handled modernization a lot more smoothly. If the USSR hadn't industrialized the former Russian empire at breakneck speed, the Germans would have steamrolled them and ethnically cleansed large parts of eastern europe.
Also, if communist countries hadn't had to scramble to build up defensive capacity against the imminent threat of imperialism, they probably would have handled modernization a lot more smoothly. If the USSR hadn't industrialized the former Russian empire at breakneck speed, the Germans would have steamrolled them and ethnically cleansed large parts of eastern europe.