The Democratic Socialists of America advertised writings on Tuesday by a former Communist Party USA leader recounting his time in the pro-Soviet group. Jay Schaffner promised to fill a “gap in the historical record” on the party in a post on the DSA’s website foreshadowing “Red Lives: Our Years in the U.S. Communist Party (1950–2000).” The remarks further tie America’s so-called democratic socialists of today with explicitly communist causes as Republicans accuse the DSA of promoting the ideology. The Soviet Union created the CPUSA to advance its geopolitical interests by merging multiple communist groups in the 1920s, as noted by scholars and the party’s website. Schaffner noted that later revelations about oppression under the late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin caused “division” within CPUSA.