Comment Re: Style (Score 3, Interesting) 126
The Russian market was also being propped up by those external investors. a closed system wouldn't have grown very big to begin with. hence why the Soviet Union couldn't keep up with the USA in military spending the USA had a world Economy and the Soviet union and the Warsaw pack, partially as not even full trade was allowed between them.
The USA didn't become a world trade powerhouse because of it's isolationist policies, but because we traded with just about anybody and sold anything including our own grandparents.