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Three rebuttals:

1. The Soviet system of democracy was an enormous expansion in democratization for society. Not only in comparison to Tsarism, but to bourgeois systems of democracy. Voting rates in the USSR were among the highest in the world, and democratic participation stemmed from the lowest factory and agricultural councils all the way to the regional, provincial, and central councils. It was also a very effective economic system, managing to have some of the fastest and most stable economic growth in the world for its existence:

2. The government never abandoned the pursuit of communism until Yeltsin, when the USSR was dissolved. To begin with, "true communism" is a Utopian framing, implying more of a religious notion of purity than a materialist analysis. The USSR throughout its existence was socialist, which is a transitional form of society between capitalism and communism. To develop into communism, you need worldwide socialism, an end to class society globally, and incredibly developed productive forces to the point that there is no longer a decentralized productive base by which private property sprouts.

3. All socialism is democratic, I think you are confusing Nordic style social democracy, the likes of which depend on capitalism and subsidize their welfare with the imperialist system propping up western economies in general, with socialism. Socialism is a mode of production and distribution where the working class controls the state and social ownership is the principal aspect of the economy.

Regardless, the collapse in life expectancy and safety nets came under the Yeltsin era. Under Yeltsin, western imperialists began plundering the former socialist state and as a consequence there was a tremendous capital flight from Russia. Putin took power in 1999, along with the nationalist wing, and managed to put a stop to the imperialist plunder. From this point on, the Russian economy began to steadily recover:

This is why despite being a reactionary capitalist, and most Russians preferring socialism, Putin and United Russia do actually have widespread popularity. The second most popular party is the Community Party of the Russian Federation, and most Russians want a return to socialism, but the idea that Putin was the primary cause is incorrect. Capitalism was the cause of the tremendous loss of life and destruction of the safety nets, Putin just made it so that the wealth stayed within Russia rather than leaving, which is why Russian capitalists are referred to as oligarchs.

Socialism must return to Russia for genuine forward progress.