The Soviet Union held half of Europe and large chunks of Asia under its domination with little effort. There were no insurgencies as such. Communist state allied with the Soviets may not have been officially part of a "Soviet Union," but with military bases and resource deals, there wasn't much difference.

Bowser's fantasy of Ho Chi Minh as an independent "freedom fighter" aside, I suspect the Soviets would have had little more trouble in SE Asia either as long as they avoided rubbing China's rhubarb (that might have been difficult).

The Soviet goal wasn't to conquer the world, but to simply arrange things so that the world did not oppose their goals. "Finlandization," not invasion.

Without the U.S. firmly opposing the Soviets on many fronts after WWII, the world would have been a very different place. Poverty and starvation do not cause tyrannies to fall on their own, or North Korea would have collapsed years ago.

If it makes you feel better to think the Soviets spontaneously evaporated, and that the constant pressure from the U.S. under Reagan had nothing to do with it, fine. Gorbachev is the hero with the Nobel Prize, and Reagan is dead. I suppose it doesn't really matter much, now.