Truth or False. - The Soviet Union spent large amounts of money on the military which left little for the people living in the Soviet Union.

It is true. In the 1980s, almost 70% of the industrial output of the Soviet Union was for the military and this caused shortages of industrial goods for the rest of the economy. In other words, the arms industry was prioritized and other consumer goods were overlooked. This was one of the causes that led to the so-called Era of Stagnation, as Mikhail Gorbachev called it. According to several scholars, other causes were the lack of reforms and the economy suffering from some flaws.