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.
There are a whole bunch of people who lament the loss of the USSR and its allies. When the wall was up, we knew who our enemy was and stood shoulder to shoulder to keep him from gaining an inch of the free world.