Well the power structure has never changed bar a short period after USSR colapse than people gladly elected another strong man who shifted back to the same arra

Well the power structure has never changed bar a short period after USSR colapse than people gladly elected another strong man who shifted back to the same arrangment that was in place for centuries. You have a figure head (Tsar, General Secretery etc.) who holds all the power and appoints regional managers to rule a particular area. The expansionist agenda is always the key to the ideology.