What was the critical economic failure that ultimately led to the demise of the Soviet Union? What was the critical economic failure that ultimately led to the demise of the Soviet Union? The Soviet currency couldn't keep up with other regional currencies. The command economy of the region broke down as people began to learn of the consumer societies of the outside world. Industrial development could not keep up with the growing population of the USSR. The state's inherent inflexibility and inability to take advantage of new computerized information technologies that were emerging around the world