I think to survive they'd have to "bend" considerably, like China did, in the economic sphere. The Stalinists might've adopted capitalism while retaining tight control only politically. Not everyone may agree what worked in China could've worked in the USSR, but they'd have to try. In the '80s it was obvious the Soviets were falling behind economically and technologically. Their system was a failure, so demoralization and collapse were certain unless they could duplicate the Chinese achievement.
If they succeeded the USSR would've remained a superpower, so the "unipolar world," lamented by Putin, wouldn't have come about. That would've limited US options in the gulf in 1990-91, among other things.