That has always been a part of Russia, even before the communists. Paternalistic feudal estates, paternalistic tsar...
It's a common misconception to attribute all evils to communism. Perhaps, the reverse is true: communism took hold fist in the country where common folk looked up to power from a "good tsar," a " good duke." They merely exchanged those for a "good politburo."
I hope Russia gets their act together because they have a great potential for good throughout the world.
That too has been the hope of the West for centuries, perhaps because Russia is Christian. That hope has never materialized; there is no empirical evidence to support that hope. And, besides, "the one that has been a slave for long cannot be a friend" (Nietzsche).
Considering how much the West did to make sure the Communists succeeded, no wonder. Lenin got a $50 million deutch mark gift from the Kaiser, while Trotsky (a US citizen by then) got deals from Armnhammer, Rockefellers, Rothschildes and various other rich who were falling all over themselves to make deals with the communists.