Yes. Once while touring a space museum in Switzerland I was reading the placards about the Russian and US space programs. Yuri Gagarin was consistently referred to as "the communist" which seemed perfectly normal to me as an American. Then I saw one that referred to John Glenn as "the capitalist" which was a novel concept to my brain. It wasn't until that moment that I realized just how ridiculous it was for us to refer to random Russians as communists, these were both seasoned military men who had nothing to do with either ideology other than the fact that their governments were pushing these things.
Also, the "winning side" is allowed the freedom to move forwards and forget the past quicker. As a Yankee we don't think much about the US civil war. The deeper a northerner goes into the south the more you are reminded that their side did not win the civil war, they remember that shit, and you better be careful what you say about it less you get run out of town.
[edit spelling; I had double checked myself but still fucked it up]
With regard to people of a third country seeing one astronaut as the capitalist and the other as the communist, that goes way back. Consider these lines from Jean-Luc Godard’s Pierrot le Fou (shot in summer 1965). As a man and woman look up at the moon, the man says about the Man in the Moon:
"He's fed up. He was glad to see Leonov land. Someone to talk to after an eternity alone! But Leonov tried to stuff
his head full of Lenin. So when the American landed,
the guy fled to his camp. But the American right away
crammed a Coke down his throat, after making him say thank you first."
The USA was and is a warmongering socialist state. Capitalism certainly doesn't prescribe huge spendings and nationalisation.
Russia was and is a warmongering socialist state.
The redeeming factor, and likely what makes "the communist" sounds reasonable, is that the Soviets defined themselves communist
Also, the "winning side" is allowed the freedom to move forwards and forget the past quicker. As a Yankee we don't think much about the US civil war. The deeper a northerner goes into the south the more you are reminded that their side did not win the civil war, they remember that shit, and you better be careful what you say about it less you get run out of town.
[edit spelling; I had double checked myself but still fucked it up]