Most of Russians think that the re-establishment of the USSR is not possible but the idea of uniting the former Soviet republics is supported by Russians.
MOSCOW, December 23, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the attitudes of Russians towards the USSR dissolution and the idea to restore the Union in its original or new composition. The survey is part of the Eurasian Monitor project.
The Belovezha accord signed on December 8, 1991 (that marked the dissolution of the USSR and the establishment of the CIS) was a milestone for Russia. Today 56% of respondents know about the accord; over a decade this percentage has declined (67% in 2006); a further 26% say that they “heard something”.
On average, the share of those Russians who regret about the USSR dissolution is 63% (it was 65% in 2006). A certain trend is observed across age groups: the older the respondents are, the more pronounced their attitudes are (85% of the retired persons regret about the dissolution); as to the younger generations, only one-third (27%) regret about that. 39% have no regret.
As years go by, more Russians think that the USSR could have been preserved: 47% said so in 2006, 56% - in 2016. On the contrary, the share of those who say that the USSR dissolution was inevitable is 32% (19% of respondents aged 60 and over; 14% of CPRF supporters; 36% of respondents aged 18-24; 46% - potential electorate of non-parliamentary parties).
As in 2006 (69%), most of Russians think that the re-establishment of the union in its original composition is hardly possible (68%); and this share exceeds 50% across main social and demographic groups; however the idea to put the countries of the post-Soviet space together into a new union is supported by half of Russians (52%). According to the sample mean, those who favor the idea of a new union are residents of Moscow and St.Petersburg (39%), young respondents aged 18 - 24 (44%); the share of those who support this idea among those aged 60 and over is 65%. Only 17% of respondents oppose the idea; 23% would not participate in the voting; 8% remain undecided.
The VCIOM survey was held as part of the Eurasian Monitor project and conducted on November 5-6, 2016 in 130 settlements, 46 regions and 8 federal districts of Russia, with a sample of 1600 persons representative of the Russian population aged 18 and over according to sex, age, education, type of settlement. The survey was conducted with multi-stage stratified sample based on general rule of walking and quotas at the final selection stage. The margin of error (taking into account the design effect) with 95% confidence interval does not exceed 3.5%. The survey method is community-based structured face-to-face interviews. Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork should be taken into account.
Do you know/ have you heard something/ do you hear for the first time that in December 1991 the Belovezha accords were signed that marked the demise of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||
| 2006 | 2016 |
I know | 67 | 56 |
I heard something | 23 | 26 |
This is the first time I hear about that | 7 | 15 |
Don’t know | 3 | 3 |
Do you regret or not that the Soviet Union dissolved? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | ||
| 2006 | 2016 |
Definitely regret | 39 | 42 |
Rather yes | 29 | 21 |
Rather not | 17 | 10 |
Definitely not | 8 | 13 |
Don’t know | 7 | 14 |
Twenty-five years ago the Soviet Union ceased to exist. In your opinion, was the Soviet Union dissolution inevitable or could it have been avoided? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||
| 2006 | 2016 | |
It was definitely inevitable | 13 | 18 | |
Likely inevitable | 28 | 14 | |
It could have been avoided | 28 | 27.5 | |
It could have been definitely avoided | 19 | 28.5 | |
Don’t know | 12 | 12 | |
In your opinion, is it possible today to restore the union of the former USSR republics? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||
| 2006 | 2016 | |
It is definitely possible | 6 | 7 | |
It is likely possible | 18 | 16 | |
It is unlikely possible | 42 | 26.5 | |
It is definitely not possible | 27 | 41.5 | |
Don’t know | 7 | 9 | |
If a referendum on uniting the former Soviet republics into a new union (with common border, single parliament and government and single currency) took place today, would you vote “for” or “against” or abstain from voting? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||
| 2006 | 2016 | |
I would vote “for” | 51 | 52 | |
I would vote “against” | 22 | 17 | |
I would abstain | 16 | 23 | |
Don’t know | 11 | 8 | |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!