This question has been asked before, but has not been answered beyond the short answers provided in this post.
I have a number of acquaintances on social media who have gone down somewhat of a neo-communist rabbit hole, and seem to be under the impression that the terrors of Stalin's Russia have been exaggerated. One of them suggested that this have happened to the extent that they believe him to have been a genuinely positive part of Russian history.
I do not doubt that there certainly was a great deal of anti-communist propaganda that lead to certain events being overblown within Western media, but the impression that I have is that such an overwhelming amount of evidence exists that the extent Stalin's paranoia and cruelty cannot be denied.
How much did such propaganda lead to a distortion of the truth in the public eye, if at all? I know that in Russia today, Stalin is seen by some as a heroic figure, is there any truth at all to the claims made by these people?
Not to discourage further answers, but you might be interested in this response I wrote to a similar question.