Most Russians believe that children’s organizations like the pioneers are needed. This opinion is quite stable. According to its supporters, such an organization could educate children, protect them from bad habits, instill patriotism. Opponents of such an organization see it as a relic of the past, a way of imposing ideology.
80% of respondents believe that children’s organizations like the pioneers are needed now (50% definitely support this idea and another 30% rather support it), 16% hold the opposite opinion. At the same time, in the 2000s, the attractiveness of recreating the pioneer organization gradually declined. However, since the last measurement in 2008, the share of those supporting such an initiative has not changed (although the number of ardent supporters has somewhat increased), while the share of its opponents has increased slightly.
The idea of creating children’s organizations similar to the pioneers enjoys the least support among young respondents (about 70% in groups of 18-24 and 25-39 years old; unconditional support for this idea in these groups is at the level of a third of respondents), as well as among residents of Moscow (66%). Among respondents aged 40-54 and 55 and older, this initiative is supported by 83% and 87%, respectively. Outside the capital, support is at 80%.
METHODOLOGY
The survey by the Levada Center was conducted May 26 – 31 2022, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1634 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.
The statistical error of these studies for a sample 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%
The ANO Levada Center is included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents.