The division you see is between those who see the road ahead and those who are applying Cold War thinking to what’s happening today.
This is nonsense. Before 1917 Tsarist Russia was the most despotic state in Europe and strongly imperialist. The Bolsheviks didn’t invent despotism and imperialism. Whether Putin (or another Russian ruler) is more of a Commie or more of a Tsarist makes little difference.