Many Russians don’t think of Stalin as a Communist, they think of him more as an “Ivan the Terrible” type. The Iron Fist that ruled the country. That doesn’t necessarily mean they want to bring back Communism.
Uzbeks proudly told me their most admired historical figures were all conquerors; Tamerlaine, Temujin [Genghis Khan], and Aleksandr Makedonskii [Alexander the Great]. But oh how they hated their dictator, the late Islam Karimov.