Related to benevolent Communist (7)
I believe the answer is:
kindred
'related' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'benevolent communist' is the wordplay.
'benevolent' becomes 'kind' (associated in meaning).
'communist' becomes 'red' (red can informally mean communist).
'kind'+'red'='KINDRED'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for kindred that I've seen before include "These spirits have similar tastes" , "Family - similar" , "Associated - relations" , "clan" , "Closely related" .)