In Defense of the Late Soviet Union

The late Soviet Union was actually kind of alright. By this I don't mean that I condone their authoritarianism and their crimes against the people, but I do generally believe they advanced economically and were moving in a democratic direction when everything went to shit. I guess the most relevant example of this is Hungary, but I'd also argue that what we are seeing in modern Russia is really disimilar from the late USSR for the better. What are your thoughts?