I'm hoping this doesn't start a fight, I'm just curious what the political orientation is of this community. I grew up in a liberal (in the American sense) family, and I identify now as a socialist, though a lot of the liberalism I grew up in has stuck with me, like interest in LGBTQ and women's rights, environmentalism, etc. Wondering where people here land?
so, first of all, there is a wider horizon of communist vision than "implement all of the most reactionary policies of the soviet union" so jot that down.
second, queer people in the soviet union had varying levels of rights and social acceptance throughout its history, but at no point were they as oppressed and persecuted as they are in modern day Russia, a capitalist democracy.
third, left opposition to NATO warmongering in Ukraine isn't support of Russia. this canard is employed to shut down any criticism of a foreign policy agenda that is willfully contributing to the deaths of Ukrainians for the sake of defense industry profits and US hegemony. If you want to have coherent responses to political positions other than your own, you have to understand what they actually are. you can't just say "actually you're lying about what you believe because i don't understand it."
That first part os essential and what libs can not get through their heads. "We are the heirs to the worlds revolutions" speech by Sankara in the 80s was all about this. Why would we copy things or even want to copy things that are now regarded as reactionary? Its even clear when the country that currently has the best rights for LGBTQ+ is communist