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I was trying to envision a Soviet victory in the Cold War, and the following (broad) scenario came to mind:

With a post-WWII P.O.D. (or a pre-WWII P.O.D. that avoids any major pre-1945 butterflies), the U.S.A. needs to somehow not only alienate their allies, but find themselves hampered with significant internal strife. Simultaneously, the U.S.S.R. needs to reform itself to avoid becoming the economic dumpster fire it evolved into O.T.L.

Thus, we have a world where a healthier U.S.S.R. is able to at least exert more "soft power" than the U.S.A. (and possibly more "hard power" as well even if it doesn't actually flex it very often). Thus, while the U.S.A. become a sort of pariah state, the Soviet Union is viewed as something of a "gentle giant" by the rest of the world.

I know very little about the Soviet economy, but in terms of the United States, perhaps some ill-conceived military adventurism combined with an authoritarian crack-down on civil unrest at home could help us meet that half of the challenge?
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