Officially, communists often engage in self-critique (whether this is heartfelt or not is another matter). So they do criticize their own ideology and practices.
A running joke among lefties is that the worst enemy of a communist is another communist with a slightly different ideology.
Also see: Monty Python's Life of Brian and their hilarious "The People's Front of Judea" skit (not to be confused with Judea People's Front -- splitters!).
Unrelated, but with AI, one could make the actors look exactly like the historical figures. I don't think it's been done yet, would be interesting to see I it would work.
He looked nothing at all like Isaacs, I grant you that.
uncircle•7mo ago
I guess these indeed are the consequences of developing a cult of personality over decades, that some people just are unable to deal with hearing criticism of the dear leader.
Also the cognitive dissonance at hearing a member of the politburo openly saying stuff that would usually have sent them and their family to the gulag.