I think it’s incorrect to say that Republicans are backing Russia, and to think that Republicans would want to put statues up in the south. It was Southern Democrats who put the statues up in the south. Dixiecrats. The progressive/Democrats identify more with Marxist Russian philosophy than the Republicans. Trump – a republican – put sanctions on building the Russian NordStream gas pipeline. It was Joe Biden, a Democrat, who remove those sanctions on the gas pipeline. Trump also encouraged Europe to spend more on their NATO commitment. And he warned Europe about being dependent upon Russian natural gas.