To be a member of the Communist Party under certain circumstances is not a crime. Especially in the case when there is no other choice. Some of them, Boris Yeltsin is a good example, can become freedom fighters. In fact, they are better, much better human beings, than those who are not members of the Communist Party and this thoughts are several times more Communist than card-holding Communists. If we deny the right to become an American citizen to an outstanding musician like Arturo Sandoval because of a technicality, we are out of whack from reality.
Reality is that people in our times lie, like rugs, constantly, for many reasons.
In his case, to survive a totalitarian regime, and that is justifiable. Decades ago, perjury was a serious crime, and people abhor to commit. We have them everywhere, in the media, in educational institutions, in fund raising groups, in colleges and universities. Communist are trained to lie, to deceive, to commit perjury. None of them are card-holders, but they feel and think like the worst of Communists.