I can always count on you to try to provide an unrelated distraction.
Speaking of the Spanish Civil War, while Italy and Germany provided support to the Spanish fascists for free, Stalin made the Republicans pay for everything in gold, eating up the entire gold reserve of the Spanish government, after which no further aid was forthcoming. Also, the Soviets who came over to Spain to fight” spent much of their time fighting the other Republican factions while they tried to take the whole thing over. (And then, of course, Stalin had most of these people shot when they returned to Moscow).
I can see that the Spanish Civil War is another history you haven’t bothered to learn about.