Military spending played a significant role in influencing the end of the Cold War. Characterized by primarily spending money on technology and innovations to compete with each country, the United States and USSR strained their economies. The USSR specifically struggled with this because while it struggled with economic pressures on its own, America's military pressured it into exacerbating (elevating) the initial problem. An overarching desire for political reforms alongside internal troubles weakened the Soviets. This failure to maintain economic stability led to the collapse of the USSR, effectively ending the Cold War.