re: #4 Romantic Heretic

If Red Dawn hadn’t been an American movie about American partisans fighting the Russians and Cubans in WWIII it could easily have been a Russian movie about Russian partisans fighting the Germans and Romanians (and Hungarians and Croats and even some Spaniards) in WWII.

Indeed, but don’t forget the Italians. Italy had several divisions in Russia and its cavalry were reckoned especially useful for anti-partisan work, as were the Cossacks who fought for Germany.

But your point is excellent and well made.