Russia has always supported an authoritarian government traditionally and Stalin just replaced the Tsar.

Pete has apologized many times for his naiveté regarding Stalin, and it should be remembered that the United States supported Hitler at his inception and that the Graf Zepplin flew over our country with swastikas on display.

You ask how could people support Stalin and yet here in the US, we supported Stalin without reservation during the Yalta talks and "Uncle Joe" was considered an ally. It's amazing how soon we forget history.

I'm glad that Gargoyle expressed his viewpoint because I think it can be answered rationally.

The US has a history of supporting dictators, as FDR called them "our bastards".

I see the American people as essentially naive when it comes to this issue and it's so easy
to accuse someone of not being consistent in their lifetime.

Remember that Pete and Ewan were reacting to the invasion of the USSR by the Nazis
and this may have clouded their judgement about Stalin.

What this brings into focus for me is the futility of military actions as we see contemporary Hitlers and Stalins in our recent history in Asia and the Mid-East.

Not only did the 1917 revolution bring about improvements in feudalist Russia but the Communist Party of the US brought about significant improved changes in Civil Rights, Unions, Women's suffrage and equality. Many of the CPUSA members and "fellow travelers" were completely naive about Stalin but this doesn't preclude the good work that they did.

I was never a member but I recall the Marxist rule, in this case, Groucho who said,
"I would never join any club that would have me as a member."