A quarter-century since the collapse of the USSR, we gained neither stability nor trust in each other. We still rely on themselves, strong personality and severe discipline rather than laws and society.

MOSCOW, February 5, 2016. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey describing the moral bearings of Russians twenty-five years ago and today.

Certain fears and stereotypes have not changed since the collapse of the USSR. Specifically, most of respondents still complain about unstable life (84% in 1990 and 81% in 2015), collapse of ideals of parents (86% and 85%); they consider that people talk too much and do nothing (81% and 80%), and that most of people do not believe in anything (77% and 79%). According to Russians, children should be raised with severe discipline (65% in 1990 and 73% in 2015).

Despite an increase in the share of those who think that humans are altruistic by nature (from 13% to 24%), most of respondents still blame others for being selfish (70% in 1990 and 2015). A question of trust is open:  46% think that most of people are trustworthy, whereas 50% oppose them.

Besides that, people are lacking true friendship (74%); in today’s turmoil it is hard to understand what to trust in (72%); everything is changing so fast that you find it hard to figure out what laws you should abide by (74%). This explains why the laws are not perceived as something that requires faultless submission: 60% believe that in certain situations one can disregard the law when acting according to conscience (58% in 1990). Today 32% of Russians consider that steadfast implementation of laws is important.

Over the recent twenty-five years, Russian views on life got more harsh and abrupt, and their assessments – more pessimistic. More than 80% are confident that people are lacking stamina and willpower (87% in 2015, 44% in 1990), and that wars and conflicts have become an essential part of everyday life (81%, 38% earlier).

For the time being, trust in strong leaders has increased: today 81% of respondents are confident that they can do more good things for the country than any laws and discussions (52% in 1990).

The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on November 14-15, 2015. A total of 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 settlements in 46 regions and republics of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.

*In 1990, the all-Russian representative survey involved urban and rural populations aged 16 and over; the sample size was 1962 respondents.

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