I agree that tankie-ism is very similar to various other far-right ideologies, and I think the only significant difference between a tankie (or late-stage USSR

I agree that tankie-ism is very similar to various other far-right ideologies, and I think the only significant difference between a tankie (or late-stage USSR or CCP supporter in general) and other authoritarian ideologies is an aesthetic one. In my opinion, the core of left-wing politics is a radical opposition to authoritarianism, where the authoritarianism of the worker's relationship with capital is but one important example. It's extremely telling to me that the mainstream right-wing view of the Russia/Ukraine conflict is one which supports Russia -- in perfect alignment with the tankies.