The Soviet government is the most realistic regime in the world - no ideals.
In the Soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance.
Putin is sometimes described as a revanchist, seeking to recreate the Soviet Union. That is a useful shorthand, but it is not really accurate.
In the Soviet Union, no industry went under until they all did.
Textbooks are Soviet propaganda.
I was a Ukrainian folk dancer in my teens, and I toured the country in 1991, shortly before the break-up of the Soviet Union.