What were the perceived benefits of communism in Russia during the 20th century?

Perhaps the most important perceived benefit to Russians who supported the Bolshevik Revolution was that the Communists promised an immediate exit from World War One. Russian participation in that conflict was disastrous and costly, and very unpopular with the Russian people. Later, part of the appeal to the Russian people was the promise that land distribution offered to the millions of landless people in the countryside. Eventually, land distribution took the form of collectivization, which ruined many of the small landholders, known as kulaks, in the countryside. Many, especially in other countries, saw the establishment of state socialism in the Soviet Union as a means of modernizing what they perceived as a backward society. The USSR under Josef Stalin indeed achieved rapid industrialization, but at a horrible human cost. Some others pointed to the almost unmatched status of women in the USSR. Soviet women became doctors, educators, scientists, and pursued other careers unavailable to women in any other society in the world. All of these were seen by many around the world--and of course showcased by Soviet propaganda--as major benefits to life under state socialism.