This survey took place between 18 and 21 December 2015 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the number of participants along with data from previous surveys. The statistical error of these studies does not exceed 3.4%.
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD BORIS YELTSIN?
| Sept.93 | Mar.00 | Dec.00 | Dec.05 | Dec.10 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Mostly positive | 26 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 10 |
| Neutral | 19 | 37 | 32 | 33 | 42 | 37 |
| Mostly negative | 21 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 21 | 21 |
| Very negative | 15 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 14 | 15 |
| It is difficult to say | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD RUSSIA’S 1990 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE?
| Jan.00 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 13 | 5 |
| Mostly positive | 24 | 24 |
| Probably negative | 19 | 22 |
| Mostly negative | 9 | 12 |
| It is difficult to say | 35 | 39 |
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD YELTSIN WINNING THE 1991 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OVER RYZHKOV AND ZHIRINOVSKY?
| Jan.00 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 12 | 4 |
| Mostly positive | 25 | 21 |
| Mostly negative | 29 | 28 |
| Very negative | 19 | 19 |
| It is difficult to say | 15 | 29 |
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD YELTSIN WINNING THE 1996 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OVER ZYUGANOV?
| Jan.00 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 7 | 3 |
| Probably positive | 20 | 17 |
| Probably negative | 28 | 27 |
| Very negative | 32 | 22 |
| It is difficult to say | 13 | 32 |
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS THE CLOSEST TO YOUR VIEWS ON THE REASONS FOR YELTSIN’S RESIGNATION?
| Jan.00 | Dec.00 | Dec.03 | Dec.07 | дек.15 | |
| Yeltsin resigned due to illness and inability to fulfill his duties as president of Russia | 40 | 41 | 39 | 42 | 35 |
| Yeltsin resigned due to overwhelming political criticism | 14 | 21 | 23 | 16 | 19 |
| Yeltsin resigned to allow younger politicians, capable of leading Russian out of the crisis, to take his place | 13 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| Yeltsin resigned to give Vladimir Putin the best chance possible to win the then upcoming presidential elections | 28 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 14 |
| Other | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| It is difficult to say | 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 13 |
FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, DID THE YELTSIN ERA, IN YOUR OPINION, BRING RUSSIA MORE GOOD OR BAD?
| More good | More bad | It is difficult to say | |
| Dec.15 | 18 | 56 | 26 |
| Apr.13 | 14 | 66 | 20 |
| Dec.11 | 18 | 63 | 19 |
| Dec.10 | 20 | 59 | 22 |
| Dec.09 | 17 | 63 | 20 |
| Dec.07 | 19 | 58 | 23 |
| May.07 | 26 | 47 | 27 |
| Dec.06 | 15 | 64 | 21 |
| Dec.05 | 13 | 70 | 17 |
| Dec.04 | 16 | 69 | 15 |
| Feb.03 | 13 | 71 | 16 |
| Dec.02 | 14 | 69 | 17 |
| Dec.01 | 15 | 67 | 18 |
| Jun.01 | 17 | 66 | 17 |
| Dec.00 | 15 | 75 | 11 |
| Jan.00 | 15 | 67 | 18 |
Events of 1992-1993
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE GAIDAR REFORMS OF 1992?
| Jan.00 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 2 | 1 |
| Mostly positive | 6 | 10 |
| Mostly negative | 34 | 27 |
| Very negative | 43 | 31 |
| It is difficult to say | 16 | 31 |
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE DISSOLUTION OF THE SUPREME SOVIET OF RUSSIA IN 1993?
| Jan.00 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 3 | 2 |
| Mostly positive | 12 | 12 |
| Mostly negative | 26 | 25 |
| Very negative | 20 | 19 |
| It is difficult to say | 39 | 43 |
Fall of the USSR
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE DISSOLUTION OF THE USSR IN 1991?
| Jan.00 | Dec.15 | |
| Very positive | 4 | 3 |
| Mostly positive | 8 | 12 |
| Mostly negative | 29 | 31 |
| Very negative | 48 | 32 |
| It is difficult to say | 12 | 23 |
DO YOU REGRET THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR?*
| Yes | No | It is difficult to say | |
| Nov.15 | 54 | 37 | 9 |
| Nov.14 | 54 | 28 | 18 |
| Dec.12 | 49 | 35 | 16 |
| Nov.11 | 53 | 32 | 16 |
| Nov.10 | 55 | 30 | 16 |
| Nov.09 | 60 | 28 | 12 |
| Nov.08 | 60 | 30 | 10 |
| Nov.07 | 55 | 36 | 10 |
| Nov.06 | 61 | 30 | 9 |
| Nov.05 | 65 | 25 | 9 |
| Dec.04 | 68 | 26 | 6 |
| Dec.02 | 68 | 25 | 7 |
| Dec.01 | 72 | 21 | 7 |
| Dec.00 | 75 | 19 | 6 |
| Jan.99 | 74 | 16 | 10 |
| Nov.94 | 66 | 19 | 15 |
| Mar.93 | 63 | 23 | 14 |
| Mar.92 | 66 | 23 | 11 |
WAS THE FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION, IN YOUR OPINION, UNAVOIDABLE, OR COULD IT HAVE BEEN AVOIDED?*
| It was unavoidable | Could have been avoided | It is difficult to say | |
| Nov.15 | 39 | 51 | 11 |
| Nov.14 | 30 | 55 | 15 |
| Dec.12 | 31 | 48 | 21 |
| Nov.11 | 33 | 53 | 14 |
| Nov.10 | 32 | 53 | 15 |
| Nov.09 | 28 | 57 | 15 |
| Nov.08 | 30 | 55 | 15 |
| Nov.07 | 30 | 56 | 14 |
| Nov.06 | 27 | 59 | 14 |
| Nov.05 | 29 | 61 | 10 |
| Nov.04 | 24 | 65 | 10 |
| Dec.02 | 29 | 59 | 12 |
| Dec.01 | 29 | 58 | 13 |
| Mar.00 | 26 | 62 | 12 |
| Feb.98 | 24 | 58 | 18 |
*Survey conducted between 20 and 23 November, 2015; N=800.
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).