They never claimed to be socialist but they are nonetheless worth supporting in their aspiration to self-determination (now as part of the Russian nation) and their defense against genocidal Ukrainian Nazism.

There isn’t really more than that to it. They are now fully integrated into the Russian Federation and so their governments function as those of any other Russian federal state, which is to say they are bourgeois governments full of contradictions that sometimes do good things (in particular they offer a lot of public aid and very solid social safety nets) and sometimes not so good.

One thing that can be praised about them is their sense of solidarity that their people have developed over the eight years militarily resisting the Kiev regime virtually on their own until Russia officially came to their aid. Because of this history there is a very strong sense of community and a lot of mutual aid happening not only from citizens of these frontline republics but from other parts of Russia as well. That kind of social consciousness is a positive thing to see and can be the basis for future revolutionary impetus. If Russia does have another socialist revolution it will be driven primarily by these people who have lived through difficult times and experienced the value of solidarity and people helping each other.