How can they miss him?

In the last two week s I watched a few good Russian TV series based on famous books. In two serials the story takes place at the post war Soviet Union, during the last and the most harsh Stalinist repressions. One of the serials specifically talks about it. It is called “In the First Circle” and the script is written by Soljenitzin himself, based on his book. From the stories of the hell that people went through and the cynicism of the Soviet government, you have to ask yourself, how can so many people miss Stalin and his regime? When there were almost no families left, untouched by Stalin's terror? Even thou that I heard the reasons for people's nostalgia, I simply cannot grasp the thought that someone could miss this monster.