@GNUmatic my rule of thumb: there is no such thing as a real left if it is authoritarian.
even th directorate of the proletarian was, in theory, supposed to be democratic but the Soviets never knew a power grab that they didn't like.
can't remember who is it that wrote that the only reason the USA joined Soviets in defeating the Germans was because each country saw the other & Germans as competition. to the writer, the soviets (and gringos) were fascist, not left or right.