(my answer is mostly based on my own experience, but I'll try to illustrate it with some links).

So, I can give some details about 1970-1980. But first I have to say that there was no any communism in Soviet Union at that time (and, actually, never). Soviet Union was a socialist country that will become communist country in the future.

When? It's a good question. The usual answer was: "we need to wait 20-30 years, guys". For example, in 1961 Nikita Khruschov promised that the current generation will see the real communism, and it was very official promise — it was written to the Communist Party program using almost the same words ("The Party solemnly proclaims: the present generation of Soviet people shall live in communism!" — http://archive.org/stream/ProgramOfTheCommunistPartyOfTheSovietUnion_150/program2#page/n71/mode/2up)

It was expected that every soviet family will have its own flat or house in 1980 (flats were actually free but you have to wait 5-10-15 years for yours). It was never achieved too.

So, in 1986 there were new promises and goals (from Michael Gorbatchov this time): every soviet family will have its own flat in 2000. And so on.

Because of that, a lot of people became quite sceptical about communism (and flats) as a real destination. At the same time almost no one was actively against it. Partly because people were brainwashed in some way (rotten West, greedy capitalists, underemployment, racists all around and so on). But also because communism is a very powerful dream, especially if you don't have a clue about Marx and Lenin teachings — and majority of soviet people never really read either of them. Popular idea of communism was very simple: money will not be an issue anymore, because there will be no money, so you are trying to do your best at work and you can have all you want ("от каждого по способностям, каждому — по потребностям" — From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs). It sounds much better than socialist motto — "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work" — that was written into soviet constitution.

So, communism was never put in place in this country. Were the proletarians content with socialism? If we are talking about 1970-1980 then mostly yes, because soviet system has some cookies (schools are free, medicine is free, flats are free), because West is scary, and because there was no real reference point (the revolution has happened several generations earlier, so when you are discussing now and then with your father or grandfather you are comparing socialism now with 20/40-years-ago-socialism, not with Russian empire). And Soviet Union in 1980 is much, much more rich and safe than Soviet Union in 1940.

If your question was about the Russian revolution and short period of war communism, the historians will answer much better than me, but I want to mention that there was a Civil war just after the revolution, and war communism experiment was cancelled by soviet government, because it failed.

Both the Chinese and Russian revolutions had huge support from the people, as did nearly any communist state established through revolution.

They hoped for a better life, and they got it in most circumstances(ability to control means of production, healthcare, education and modernisation.)

In Marxist theory, the proletariat must struggle for the socialist state, to ensure all power goes to the workers (dictatorship of the proletariat) and can only rest when class as a whole has been abolished and the state can wither away.

As for actual life in these areas, I would look at some AMA's from those who lived in the soviet union. There was a brilliant one from a Mexican diplomat who lived there for 20 ish years, I'll see if I can find it for you.

Edit: here it is

You have to remember that both Stalinist dictatorship and Northern European Social Democracy are both modified forms of Marxism. When Marx was writing and when communist regimes took power, no one knew how things were going to turn out.

Marx was writing in a time when there were massive numbers of people moving from agricultural and artisan lives to factory work that was dangerous, lowly paid and completely insecure. In general across Europe and the US there was no minimum wage, food stamps or unemployment benefits and brutal, uncompensated industrial accidents were common.

Marx and other socialists became popular because they acknowledged and sought to address these issues. Marxist parties in western Europe have arguably been very successful in raising the living standards of these countries.

Both China and Russia were run by brutal monarchist/nationalist dictatorships before brutal communist dictatorships took over. While there was resistance to communist regimes, it wasn't like these countries were democratic, prosperous places before Stalin and Mao which made people there more likely to accept conditions. Anyways, when it came to women's rights, meritocracy and general social organization, the communist regimes were almost certainly an improvement over their predecessors, especially at first.

Also by the time things got really bad in the Soviet Union and Red China, not only were many people "brainwashed" but dissent was cracked down on so hard that most people just kept their mouths shut.