Not so long ago street interviews in Moscow revealed that many people were hankering after the 'good old days' of Communist rule, where they were much better off with their State-run lives. Freedom and Capitalism, they had found, did not put food in their bellies.
Many, too, expressed dismay at the loss of National 'prestige'. There were a number of politicians who started making noises towards the restoration of the old Communist-style rule - with all the trappings of a world class military power.
No, I don't expect the Communist Block to be resurrected in the form that it enjoyed at the height of the Cold War. However, who knows what could happen if the hawks gained control of Russia; it could be that treaties of co-operation evolve amongst many of the old parts of the Soviet Union - who knows.
It would be a mistake to write off the old Communist world as totally dead in the water.
That said, maybe the sarcasm was a touch too subtle...