“Those fellow travelers were from the USSR.”
Russia WAS the USSR. The USSR was created by and controlled by and existed only because of Russia.
“Russia and Putin are NOT Communists...”
And yet their closest allies are all hardcore communist countries, especially China, Cuba, and North Korea. There are other communist governments that have close ties to Russia.
“...they are more klepocrats.”
Kleptocracy is a widespread given in communist countries. It’s ironic, but Russia today is more a fascist country than anything else; yet the Russians — and the left here in the US — rage against fascists, but they are fascists themselves.
They are not a threat to us.