05.10.2016
Dynamics of nostalgia for the USSR
- According to a study conducted by the Rating Group in September 2016, 35% of respondents regret the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, while half do not, and 15% are undecided. The dynamics show that this year the share of those who regret the collapse of the USSR slightly increased compared to 2014 and 2015: 35% in 2016 versus 33% in 2014 and 31% in 2015.
- In the South, East, and Center of the country, about 40% of respondents regret the collapse of the USSR, while in the West this share is about half as high (18%).
- The strongest nostalgia for the USSR is observed among those who would currently vote for Yuriy Boyko (68%), Vadym Rabinovych (52%), and Nadiya Savchenko (44%) in presidential elections. Around one third of supporters of Yuliya Tymoshenko and Oleh Liashko, and one quarter of supporters of Anatolii Hrytsenko and Petro Poroshenko, also express such nostalgia. The lowest levels of regret are found among supporters of Andriy Sadovyi (9%) and Oleh Tiahnybok (8%), mainly because their core electorate is concentrated in Western Ukraine.
- The older the respondents and the lower their level of education and income, the more likely they are to regret the collapse of the USSR. Women express nostalgia for the USSR somewhat more often than men. Among non-working respondents, 42% regret the collapse of the USSR, compared to 28% among those who are employed.
- The highest level of nostalgia is found among those who believe that the Russian language should become the state language (58%) or an official language in certain regions (44%).
- Similarly, among supporters of Ukraine’s accession to the Customs Union, a majority (71%) regret the collapse of the USSR, while among supporters of EU and NATO membership, more than 70% do not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Methodology
- Audience: population of Ukraine aged 18 and over.
- Sample: 2,000 respondents, representative by age, gender, region, and settlement type.
- Method: face-to-face interviews.
- Margin of error: not more than 2.2%.
- Fieldwork: September 16–22, 2016.
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