Isn't that story all about the ruins of East-Meg One and its ghosts? Not exactly a symbol of Sov-Block stength, more the awful state it's in? (only going off a vague memory of the story, to be fair)
Um, no. It was a story (taking this slant on it) about the Sov Block's desire to build a new city on the site of East Meg One precisely in order to demonstrate the the Sov Block's resilience and significance as a world power. Russia's a big country -- they weren't short of land, it was all about the symbolism.
Cheers!
Jim
(I will grant at this point that Kev and I had mapped out a fair chunk of Sov Block history, and its territories, that no-one but me, him and David Bishop were privy to, so I suspect that I may be working from a picture that no-one else can see!)