NBC's coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics on February 7 included nostalgia for the communist era. Actor Peter Dinklage read the script: “Russia overwhelms. Russia mystifies. Russia transcends....The empire that ascended to affirm a colossal footprint; [over footage of communist symbols] the revolution that birthed one of modern history’s pivotal experiments. But if politics has long shaped our sense of who they are, it’s passion that endures as a more reliable route to their collective heart.”
During the Soviet era, estimates are that between 8.5 million and 50 million people died of starvation, politically-motivated murder and in forced labor camps.