Russians still have controversial attitudes toward Lenin and his role in the Russian history. The leader’s reburial is the biggest controversy.

MOSCOW, April 20, 2016.  Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data of the survey describing how Russians assess Lenin’s personality and his political activities.  

Lenin’s name is inseparable from the term “vozhd” in Russian mind. Three-quarters of respondents call him a leader (28%; “revolutionary leader”- 24%; “leader of proletariat” – 23%).

Russians are positive about the results of the Lenin political activities: 31% say he brought more good to the country (52% of CPRF supporters); others assess his performance in a negative way (23%); 35% cite both positive and negative outcomes.  The historic support index is 49 p. (in a range from 0 to 100).

Only one-third of Russians (35%) state that they share the same ideas and views with Lenin; 45% agree with him only on certain issues or disagree at all (ideological agreement index is 34 p.). 

Simultaneously, two-thirds of Russians (65%) say that Lenin acted in the interests of the majority of citizens; they are opposed by only 23%. The legitimacy index is high (61 p.). Sixty-three percent of respondents like him (73% of retired persons); only 24% dislike him. The personal attitude index is 55 p.

Russians have ambiguous attitudes towards the fact that Lenin’s body is still in Mausoleum; however, most of them are neutral or positive about it. Thirty-five percent do not oppose this idea; 17% favor it. At the same time, as ten years ago, 40% think it is wrong.

Sixty percent of Russians believe that Lenin’s body should be reburied (including 36% of those who think he should be buried at a cemetery; 24% propose to take decision after the generation who remembers about him passes away).  Thirty-two percent think that the body should be left in the Mausoleum; over the recent ten years this share has not changed much.

Historic support index shows Russian assessments on whether certain politicians did more good or harm to Russia.  The higher the value of index is, the more beneficial the politician was for the country. The index is based on the question “Do you think that the activities of the following politicians bring more good or harm to Russia?”; it is measured in points and can vary between 0 and 100 points. The answer “ more good” corresponds to coefficient “ 1”; “ equally” – “0.5”; ”more harm” – “0”. 

Legitimacy index shows how legitimate certain political institutions are, according to Russian opinion. The higher the value of index is, the more the legitimacy assessments are. The index is based on the question “In your opinion, is … acting in the interests of all society or a small group of people?”; it is measured in points and can vary between 0 and 100 points. The coefficients are based on the results of the previous surveys; the answer “In the interests of all society” corresponds to coefficient “ 1”; “In the interests of the overwhelming majority” – “0.875”; “In the interests of the majority” – “0.75”; “In the interests of the minority” -   “0.25”; “In the interests of the narrow minority”- “0.125”; “In the interests of the a small group of people”- “0”.

Ideological agreement index shows how much Russians agree or disagree with the ideas of certain politicians. The higher the value of index is, the more the agreement is. The index is based on the question “Do you agree with the ideas of following politicians about country’s development path?” The coefficients are based on the results of the previous surveys; the answer “I agree on every issue” corresponds to coefficient “ 1”; “I agree on almost every issue” – “0.875”; “I agree on most issues” – “0.75”; “I agree on a small number of issues” -   “0.25”; “I agree on several issues”- “0.125”; “I do not agree at all”- “0”.

Personal attitude index shows how much Russians like or dislike certain politicians. The higher the value of index is, the higher the level of liking is. The index is based on the question “Do you like or dislike the following politicians as persons?” The coefficients are based on the results of the previous surveys; the answer “Like very much  ” corresponds to coefficient “ 1”; “Like moderately” – “0.875”; “Rather like” – “0.75”; “Rather dislike” -   “0.25”; “Dislike moderately”- “0.125”; “Dislike very much”- “0”.

The VCIOM opinion polls were conducted on January 30-31, 2016, in 130 settlements, 46 regions and 9 federal districts of Russia. Sample size for each survey was 1600 persons. The surveys were conducted with multi-stage stratified sample based on general rule of walking and quotas at the final selection stage; the sample is representative of the Russian population aged 18 and over, according to sex, age, education, type of settlement.  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 formalized face-to-face interviews. Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the field work should be taken into account.

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