Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The world seemed to be nearing a nuclear war, but Reagan's threat worked and the Soviets backed down as the new Soviet premier, Mikhail Gorbachev, realized that the USSR could no longer afford the huge expense of an arms race. Gorbachev opened successful negotiations with Reagan, bringing the Cold War to an end as the Soviet system tottered toward collapse." [Furtado: 1001 Days]