The Communists swept into power and effectively squashed Judaism in Russia. The Midrash answers with a proof-text. And he will redeem you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. We therefore learn, that all the Israelites were in fact slaves to Pharaoh himself and only Pharaoh. He personally enslaved the entire nation for his own purposes.
Slavery is a degrading and humiliating condition.
To be the slave of a King is an entirely different condition than being the slave of commoner. When Israel is under the dominion of a King, it is evidence of Divine Providence at work. Yaacov in fact recognized this. He knew that as long as Yosef was the prevailing ruler in Egypt, it represented a clear sign that Hashem was guiding and watching over them in their exile. This is all hinted at in the comment of Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra.