I don't think your wife lived under communism, and economic form, as there were clearly property owning elites in Russia at the time. She lived under authoritarianism, a political form, which was that nation's reaction to extreme inequality at the end of the 19th century (following similar reactions in other parts of Europe). There was no "dictatorship of the proletariat", even if one believed there should be such a dictatorship.
My wife was born considerably before Perestroika. She waited in lines to get toiletries and other necessities. She has an old "CCCP" passport. She had to join the "Young Pioneers". Her mother worked for the Party. You're saying that wasn't Communism?