Two decades after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, publics in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania are far less enthusiastic about the political changes in their countries. In Lithuania and Russia, more still approve than disapprove of the switch to a multiparty system, but the level of support trails the level seen in 1991, when solid […]
Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, publics in Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine share generally positive views of the United States and the European Union. Of the three nations, Lithuanians might be described as the most Westward leaning, with solid majorities looking favorably on the U.S., the EU and NATO. Ukrainians and Russians, […]
Like views of the change to a multiparty democracy, enthusiasm for the move from a state-controlled to a market economy has declined considerably in Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine over the past two decades. Of the three former Soviet republics surveyed, only in Lithuania do more approve than disapprove of the economic changes their country has […]
Overview Two decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russians, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians are unhappy with the direction of their countries and disillusioned with the state of their politics. Enthusiasm for democracy and capitalism has waned considerably over the past 20 years, and most believe the changes that have taken place since 1991 have had a […]
Twenty years after their country began the transition from state-directed collectivism to a free-market-capitalist approach, Lithuanians place greater stock in individual achievement and responsibility than do publics in Russia or Ukraine. While majorities in these countries believe people get ahead at other people’s expense, Lithuanians tend to attribute success to ability and ambition. Moreover, most […]
Across the three former Soviet nations surveyed in 2011, there is a widespread view that ordinary citizens have reaped few rewards from the political and economic changes of the past 20 years. Indeed, clear majorities in Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine agree that average citizens have benefited “not too much” or “not at all.” By contrast, […]
Spotlight on the United States The United States is often described as “a nation of immigrants,” a phrase coined by John F. Kennedy in an essay written in 1958 when he was the junior senator from Massachusetts.8 As the future president wrote, “This was the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh […]
Respondents’ thoughts The wide range of variability in the tone of the answers to this question can be represented by the following two opposing statements, made by anonymous respondents who filed their answers at the same time on the same day: “The development of the Internet as a complex adaptive system will continue to evolve, […]
Nationalist sentiments remain widespread in Russia, in some ways even more so than when the Soviet Union was collapsing in 1991. Half of Russians say it is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exists. Moreover, as compared with 1991, a larger percentage now says it is natural for Russia to have an […]