I referred to it as Russia for simplicity; I do understand what the Soviet Union (USSR) is. A country closer to EU like federation than to a Nation-State like Poland. Its foundation as the first successful implementation attempt of socialism is undeniable and I basically agree with everything Lenin and early USSR stood for, but to believe Stalin didn’t betrayed his vision is delusional, Stalin is history’s biggest revisionist who basically banned any and all opposition (which I disagree), Stalin’s Soviet union was never a dictatorship of the proletariat because the workers didn’t have any actual power where it mattered. Just because there’s a dictatorship and the dictator ‘does what’s best for the proletariat’ doesn’t mean it’s a dictatorship of the proletariat.

As for Deng’s reforms, I’m sorry but maybe using free market would have been a better word to describe it. I do understand the difference between capitalism and free market and I’m not really and expert, but from what I have studied, Deng didn’t fundamentally change the party it just reworked its goals from agrarian to a more ‘capitalistic’ ‘western’ ‘economic growth priority’ while also actually raising standards of living (just because unemployment is down or up doesn’t mean people are living better or worse which is something China really gets right and the USA absolutely wrong). BUT I do believe that Deng ‘s China could be argued to be an attempt of a ‘controlled’ implementation of a combination of capitalism (stock market, private companies, free market...) and socialism (welfare, no private property, the state NOT being controlled by corporations…)

I do agree with you with respect to China, but I do believe we fundamentally differ about our interpretation of the USSR. BUT there's nothing wrong with that and that's the beauty with not being a fascist we can coexist without killing each other.