Right, people overlook the fact that Stalin was popular among many on the left (Che Guevara gave him a lot of praise). Trotsky, for his part (as well as Lenin)

Right, people overlook the fact that Stalin was popular among many on the left (Che Guevara gave him a lot of praise). Trotsky, for his part (as well as Lenin) was authoritarian himself. But all of the revolutionaries, including Stalin, were true believers in Communism, and acted accordingly. Orwell likes to present things as a few bad actors that just happened to betray the revolution, which suits his purpose, but that isn't an accurate portrayal.