What was the USSR Communist Party salute? Was it the same as Curly's?

Someone told me that their salute was to hold up one's open hand with the thumb to the nose, i.e. exactly the same as the defensive maneuver used by Curly of "The Three Stooges" to ward off Moe's eye-gouging attacks. Is there any truth to this? Did anyone else ever use Curly's tactic as an official salute?