This survey took place between 11 and 14 March 2016 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%.
OVERALL, WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD STALIN? (one answer)
| Apr.01 | Apr.06 | Oct.08 | Feb.10 | Oct.12 | Mar.14 | Mar.15 | Mar.16 | |
| Admiration | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Respect | 27 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 28 | 30 | 28 |
| Sympathy | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Indifference | 12 | 19 | 37 | 38 | 33 | 30 | 30 | 32 |
| Contempt, anger | 18 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Fear | 16 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Disgust, hate | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| I don’t know who Stalin is | -* | -* | -* | -* | 1 | 1 | -* | 1 |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
*Answer was not included as a possible response
WHAT ROLE DO YOU BELIEVE STALIN PLAYED IN OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY?
| Mar.03 | Dec.06 | Feb.08 | Dec.09 | Dec.10 | Mar.11 | Feb.13 | Dec.14 | Mar.16 | |
| Definitely positive | 18 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 8 |
| Probably positive | 35 | 33 | 29 | 39 | 40 | 37 | 40 | 36 | 46 |
| Probably negative | 21 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 21 | 24 |
| Definitely negative | 12 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 |
| It is difficult to say | 14 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 17 |
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE ASSERTION THAT “STALIN WAS A CRUEL, INHUMAN TYRANT, GUILTY OF THE DEATHS OF MILLIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE”?
| Oct.08 | Oct.12 | Mar.16 | |
| Fully agree | 24 | 26 | 23 |
| Probably agree | 44 | 40 | 39 |
| Probably disagree | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| Fully disagree | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| It is difficult to say/No answer | 13 | 16 | 16 |
| Russia | Respondents who consider Stalin a tyrant | Respondents who deny Stalin’s guilt in the death of millions | ||
| Number of surveyed | 1602 | 991 | 361 | |
| WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD STALIN? | ||||
| Admiration | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| Respect | 28 | 17 | 53 | |
| Sympathy | 7 | 5 | 12 | |
| Indifference | 32 | 36 | 23 | |
| Contempt, irritation | 9 | 14 | 1 | |
| Fear | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| Disgust, hatrd | 3 | 5 | <1 | |
| I don’t know who Stalin is | 1 | 1 | <1 | |
| It is difficult to say/ No answer | 14 | 15 | 4 | |
| WHAT ROLE DO YOU BELIEVE STALIN PLAYED IN THE COUNTRY’S HISTORY? | ||||
| Definitely positive | 8 | 3 | 23 | |
| Probably positive | 46 | 39 | 62 | |
| Probably negative | 24 | 34 | 7 | |
| Definitely negative | 6 | 9 | 1 | |
| It is difficult to say | 17 | 15 | 7 | |
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING ASSERTION: “STALIN WAS A WISE LEADER WHO BROUGHT GREATNESS AND PROSPERITY TO THE USSR”?
| Oct.08 | Oct.12 | Mar.16 | |
| Fully agree | 13 | 15 | 18 |
| Probably agree | 37 | 32 | 39 |
| Probably disagree | 26 | 25 | 22 |
| Fully disagree | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| It is difficult to say/ No answer | 14 | 15 | 11 |
DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE STATEMENT “STALIN WAS A GREAT LEADER”?
| Apr.92 | Mar.16 | |
| Fully disagree | 22 | 10 |
| Probably disagree | 15 | 13 |
| Both agree and disagree | 24 | 42 |
| Probably agree | 13 | 20 |
| Fully agree | 16 | 8 |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 12 | 7 |
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY LIKE TO LIVE AND WORK UNDER A LEADER LIKE STALIN?
| Oct.08 | Oct.12 | Mar.16 | |
| Definitely yes | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Probably yes | 13 | 13 | 18 |
| Probably not | 31 | 33 | 30 |
| Definitely not | 43 | 34 | 30 |
| It is difficult to say | 10 | 15 | 17 |
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT: “WHATEVER MISTAKES AND SINS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO STALIN, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT, UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, OUR PEOPLE WERE VICTORIOUS IN WORLD WAR II”?
| Oct.08 | Oct.12 | Mar.16 | |
| Fully agree | 26 | 20 | 26 |
| Probably agree | 42 | 40 | 45 |
| Probably disagree | 15 | 18 | 13 |
| Definitely disagree | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 13 | 12 | 8 |
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT: “THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LIVE WITHOUT A LEADER LIKE STALIN, WHO WOULD ESTABLISH ORDER”?
| Oct.08 | Oct.12 | Mar.16 | |
| Fully agree | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| Probably agree | 24 | 20 | 26 |
| Probably disagree | 31 | 27 | 27 |
| Fully disagree | 19 | 25 | 22 |
|
It is difficult to say/ no answer |
17 | 18 | 17 |
WITH WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS REGARDING STALINIST PURGES DO YOU MOST LIKELY AGREE?
| Aug.07 | Oct.12 | Mar.16 | |
| It was a political necessity and was historically justified | 9 | 22 | 26 |
| It was a political crime and can have no justification | 72 | 51 | 45 |
| I don’t know anything about the purges | 19 | 6 | 8 |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 20 | 22 |
| It was a political necessity and historically justified | It was a political crime and can have no justification | I don’t know anything about this | It is difficult to say | |
| Russia | 26 | 45 | 8 | 22 |
| Respondents, who consider Stalin a tyrant | 19 | 63 | 5 | 15 |
| Respondents, who deny Stalin’s guilt in the death of millions of innocent people | 52 | 15 | 9 | 24 |
| Residents of Moscow | 20 | 63 | 2 | 16 |
| Rural residents | 26 | 39 | 9 | 26 |
| 18-24 | 18 | 36 | 19 | 26 |
| 25-39 | 24 | 46 | 9 | 21 |
| 40-54 | 24 | 51 | 4 | 21 |
| 55+ | 34 | 41 | 5 | 20 |
60 YEARS AGO, AT THE 20TH CONGRESS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY, NIKITA SERGEYEVICH KHRUSHCHEV DENOUNCED THE CULT OF STALIN AND THE TERROR OF STALIN’S REIGN. WHAT ROLE, IN YOUR OPINION, DID THIS CONGRESS PLAY IN THE COUNTRY’S HISTORY?
| Mar.11 | Mar.16 | |
| Very positive | 13 | 7 |
| Probably positive | 35 | 33 |
| Probably negative | 17 | 20 |
| Very negative | 5 | 3 |
| It is difficult to say | 30 | 37 |
IS RUSSIA FREE OF THE LEGACY OF STALINISM?
| Mar.11 | Mar.16 | |
| Yes, it is free | 32 | 34 |
| No, but it is gradually overcoming it | 30 | 21 |
| It will never be free of it | 12 | 13 |
| It doesn’t need to be, as there was much good under Stalin | 11 | 15 |
| It is difficult to say | 15 | 17 |
WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD STALIN? (one answer)
| Residents of Russia | Residents of Ukraine | |
| Admiration | 2 | 1 |
| Respect | 28 | 13 |
| Sympathy | 7 | 3 |
| Indifferently | 32 | 26 |
| Contempt, anger | 9 | 13 |
| Fear | 5 | 8 |
| Disgust, hatred | 3 | 17 |
| I don’t know who Stalin is | 1 | 1 |
| It is difficult to say/ No answer | 14 | 18 |
DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE STATEMENT “STALIN WAS A GREAT LEADER”?
| Residents of Russia | Residents of Ukraine | |
| Fully disagree | 10 | 44 |
| Probably disagree | 13 | |
| Both agree and disagree | 42 | 27 |
| Probably agree | 20 | 23 |
| Definitely agree | 8 | |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 7 | 6 |
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING ASSERTION: “STALIN WAS A WISE LEADER WHO BROUGHT GREATNESS AND PROSPERITY TO THE USSR”?
| Residents of Russia | Residents of Ukraine | |
| Fully agree | 18 | 13 |
| Probably agree | 39 | 15 |
| Probably disagree | 22 | 19 |
| Definitely disagree | 11 | 31 |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 11 | 21 |
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY LIKE TO LIVE AND WORK UNDER A LEADER LIKE STALIN?
| Residents of Russia | Residents of Ukraine | |
| Definitely | 5 | 5 |
| Probably | 18 | 9 |
| Probably not | 30 | 21 |
| Definitely not | 30 | 54 |
| It is difficult to say | 17 | 12 |
TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE ASSERTION THAT “STALIN WAS A CRUEL, INHUMAN TYRANT, GUILTY OF THE DEATHS OF MILLIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE”?
| Residents of Russia | Residents of Ukraine | |
| Fully agree | 23 | 41 |
| Probably agree | 39 | 28 |
| Probably disagree | 17 | 6 |
| Definitely disagree | 5 | 3 |
| It is difficult to say/ no answer | 16 | 22 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).