I didn’t say anything about the legacy of Russia’s victory in WW2 and never challenged how Russian’s deserved pride in the victory over fascism. And apologies if my comment rubbed you the wrong way. I could have added more thought to my comment obviously. It wasn’t a perfect comparison and wasn’t meant to be one.

My point was that Russian oligarchs disdain communism but they’ll still appeal to Soviet symbology and integrate that symbology into their own nationalism. In the same vein that America has integrated radical anticapitalist figures into its own nationalist myth. Every American liberal will speak highly of the legacy of the American Civil rights movement and its figures, but no liberal is going to seriously consider tearing down the American prison-industrial slave empire. At the end of the day, the managers of these states are opportunistic about the left symbology they use.