Tankies are extremely pro-Russia. In fact, the term "tankie" was coined when the Soviet Union rolled tanks on socialist protesters that wanted to leave the USSR

Tankies are extremely pro-Russia. In fact, the term "tankie" was coined when the Soviet Union rolled tanks on socialist protesters that wanted to leave the USSR because it was clearly just another form of exploitation. Socialist movements in other countries split between pro-Russia, and anti-Russia. Or, more accurately, authoritarian left versus libertarian left. Russia today is an ethnofascist dictatorship, but most tankies don't care because America Bad.