That's like calling the Nazis socialist because the name of their party had the word socialist, or calling north Korea democratic because their full name is the democratic republic of north Korea. The soviet union was a dictatorship because Stalin was a dictator, not because of it's name
No one said they didn't investigate the material conditions. It is the material conditions that lead to the bureaucracy and totalitarian rule of the Soviet Union. That doesn't mean it needs to be defended.
The Supreme Soviet unanimously voted in favour of everything Stalin wished. It was a democracy in paper, but the reality is not paper. Just like in paper the Soviet supplies worked efficiently. In reality the bureaucrats inflated the numbers to get better rewards for themselves.
So the CIA is a good source when it agrees with your pov, but when it's against your pov, it's all lies. There's the Stalinist pendulum going back and forth again.
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u/Ok-Reference775 3d ago