There is nothing "insane" and the stories you refer to are rather extreme. Yes, the ideology was rogue and there wasn't much freedom. Still, millions of people lived relatively normal lives

I wrote about my Soviet years here. I'm much younger but I know how my parents' lives were and my grandparents'

https://alexeisorokinstories.medium.com/soviet-years-chapter-2-detailed-d21ab92b9235