It is sometimes alleged that Putin’s ongoing efforts to eliminate effective opposition are turning Russia back into a Stalinist state. Is that accurate?
It does smell that way, but not exactly. Putin is a fascist; Stalin was a dedicated communist trying to make it up on the fly. The distinction matters, because Putin is far more selective in what he attempts to control than Stalin ever was. He won’t liquidate tens of millions of supposed class enemies in an effort to build a twisted utopia in Russia, because it is the nation, not class, that matters to him; he just jails thousands of genuine political opponents, and has a few of them murdered. Not the same thing at all, if hardly inspiring.
As a result, if you insist on analogies to vicious 20th century dictators, the line actually runs to Hitler, not Stalin. Given that Putin constantly complains about nonexistent Nazis in Ukraine, he would undoubtedly be offended by the comparison. Poor little guy–in his defense, his victims only number in the thousands, to date, but we live in softer times.