They can't help themselves but make it badass, and replace the fish with barking lapdog and it would be accurate.

Have they been living under a rock for over thirty years?

Functionally, yes. I've asked a few Americans to list what countries they think were still communist.

Not a scientific survey, but the most common answers were Russia and "there is none". Second was China (which hey, at least they got China). A few people got Cuba and Vietnam. I don't think I heard DPRK or Laos once.

A good chunk of the issues currently plaguing RF (with the majority of them being caused by capitalism, obviously) are blamed on "Sovok legacy", Soviet bureaucrats in the government and similar nonsense. It's actually quite useful as far as propaganda goes

Because blurring the distinction facilitates leveraging decades of propaganda that's ingrained in older generations.

Something something constant shifting of rhetorical focus.

If only Russia was like libs depict it...