This survey took place between November 24-28, 2017 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 for a selection of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed: 3.4% for indicators around 50%; 2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%; 2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%; 1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%.

DO YOU REGRET THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR? (one answer)

Overall, the percentage of Russians from 2014-2017 who regret the collapse of the Soviet Union fluctuates around the level of 54-58%, demonstrating a limited increase in the percentage of those who regret it (it is worth noting that this is not the highest point since 1992).

Additionally, changes in public opinion are age-specific. In order to understand this, the “Nostalgia Index for the USSR” was calculated. It was calculated by taking the percentage of respondents who answered “Yes”, subtracting the percentage of respondents who answered “No”, and adding 100. Accordingly, the higher the index figures, the higher the level of nostalgia for the Soviet Union.

The only age group where the index was almost always lower than 100 was amongst Russians who were 18-24 years old. As of 2017, these are people who were born between 1993 and 1999, after the collapse of the USSR. The percentage of people in this group who were not nostalgic was twice as high as those who were (42% versus 20%, respectively), and this difference in favor of “do not regret” was stable during the 2014-2017 period. It is worth noting that during the “protest” period in 2011-2012, the percentage of young Russians (aged 18-24) who did not regret the collapse of the USSR was even more dominant—it was four times higher than the percentage of people in the same age group who were nostalgic for the USSR (51% versus 13%, respectively).

The next group of young people are those respondents between the ages of 25 and 34. As of 2017, some of them had spent part of their childhood in the USSR, while others were born after its collapse. This group has demonstrated a balanced opinion on the collapse of the Soviet Union—the percentages of those who “regret” and “do not regret” it are practically equal. It should be mentioned that up until 2007, this group’s main position was one of nostalgia, even though Russians aged 25-34 at that time had been of a more adult and aware age while living in the USSR than Russians currently in that age group.

WHAT DO YOU REGRET MOST OF ALL ABOUT THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR? (percentages of those respondents who regretted the collapse of the USSR; respondents were presented with a card; multiple choice; ranked in descending order according to November 2017)

The “Nostalgia Index” is always higher than 100 in two age groups (35-54 and 55 and older). These groups are therefore dominated by a sense of regret over the collapse of the USSR and respondents in these groups who “do not regret” it are a minority. It is interesting to note that the index’s most significant increase during 2015-2016 was recorded amongst respondents aged 55 and older, for whom the destabilization of Russia’s relations with western countries and the conflict surrounding Crimea probably brought the Soviet contexts of the Cold War and “bipolar world” back to life to some degree. This is shown to some degree by the table on reasons for nostalgia, where “The fact that people no longer felt they were part of a world superpower” is the second most popular answer amongst “nostalgic” respondents (and received significantly more support from respondents in the 55 and older group), following “The destruction of the unified economic system.”

Furthermore, the older the respondent, the greater their certainty that the collapse of the USSR could have been avoided. In 2017, this opinion of two thirds (69%) of the oldest age group; every other respondent in the 40-54 group (56%); one out of every three respondents in the 25-39 group (39%); and one out of every four adult Russians under the age of 25 (27%).

DO YOU CURRENTLY THINK THAT THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION WAS INEVITABLE, OR THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED?

Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).

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