Russians don’t see Stalin as a Communist.
Stalin’s hero was Ivan the Terrible, and that’s how Russians see Stalin, as the modern-day Ivan the Terrible.
Ivan the Terrible got his statue:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/10/14/ivan-the-terrible-a-bloodthirsty-conquerer-gets-his-first-statue-in-russia/