In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed amid cheers, and various Soviet sculptures were treated as garbage. Now that 32 years have passed, and the years have been like a shuttle of vicissitudes, so looking back now, what do Russians think of the Soviet Union?
In recent years, Russia has done some investigations, but the results have been rather "abnormal" and beyond our expectations. More importantly, behind these abnormal data, the hidden history and reality, the West and the **, the West and China, are obviously worth thinking about as Chinese.
In the eyes of many people, the collapse of the Soviet Union was a happy event, and today's Russians naturally do not affirm the Soviet Union, but the results of the survey were unexpected.
In 2021, the All-Russian Center for Social Surveys showed that 52% of respondents were in favor of the Soviet system, and 30% were against it. At the same time, the center also conducted a survey on attitudes toward the Soviet Union on the premise of "understanding the Soviet Union", and the results showed that 17 percent fully supported it, 41 percent supported it, 20 percent opposed it, 10 percent completely opposed it, and 13 percent had difficulty answering.
Not long ago, data from the sociological report of the Russian Academy of Sciences showed that since the outbreak of the conflict last year, the number of people who "yearn for a Soviet-era life" has increased rapidly, accounting for as much as 48% (see figure below), surpassing the peaks of 1998 and 2012!
In addition, there are some surveys that are even more striking, such as the data of the Russian "Levada Center", which is that in 2000, 75% of people missed the Soviet Union.
There are also many other research projects, such as the Soviet Union's concern for ordinary people, the Soviet Union's scientific and technological economy, etc., which show that there are a large number of Russians today who miss and identify with the Soviet Union.
Of course, sample surveys do not reflect 100% of the truth, but they can also tell the story to a certain extent, and the data of the above two survey agencies are not much different, which increases the credibility of the data. Therefore, it can be said that about half of today's Russians affirm the Soviet system and are nostalgic for the Soviet era.
The question is, in the West, why does the Soviet Union, which was "spurned by the people", get such a high level of recognition today?The reason is actually very simple, there are two main points:
First of all, Russia today cannot be compared with the USSR of the past
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Soviets believed that as long as they joined the Western system, they would live a good life like Westerners, and the country would be stronger and the international status would be higher.
But we all know the fact that after the disintegration, Russia plummeted, and neither its international status nor relative strength could be compared with the Soviet Union, and it is still the case today.
As for the Russian people after the disintegration, they went to the garbage truck to rummage through rotten fruits regardless of dignity (there is even worse**, interested friends can search for related **) Even until now, the relative standard of living is actually not as good as in the Soviet era.
Solzhenitsyn, a Nobel Prize-winning writer who helped promote the disintegration of the Soviet Union, once regretted that "what I did was not good for the Soviet Union and the Soviet people, and my works harmed my Russian motherland." Alexander Zinoviev, who had plotted to assassinate Stalin and was awarded the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" in World War II, regretted Russia's miserable situation. Even the poetess Yulia Drunina, who opposed the Soviet Union, could not bear the tragic situation in Russia and committed suicide.
Secondly, the West has never accepted Russia but has always suppressed it
Except for a brief period of cooperation during World War II, the West has always had a repressive attitude towards the Soviet Union. In the reforms before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West gave all kinds of wonderful promises, such as embracing and accepting Russia, etc., but after the Soviet Union "came to the palace", none of these promises were really fulfilled, let alone accepting Russia, but still suppressed by various sanctions.
Especially after the outbreak of the conflict last year, the West's comprehensive sanctions and blockade with no bottom line and no upper limit, including various operations without the spirit of contract, let many Russians see the true face of the West.
In other words, whether the Soviet Union or Russia has changed or not, the attitude of the West towards them has never really changed. Even, because Russia's strength has dropped sharply after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West's suppression and sanctions have become more intense.
The overall situation is not as good as the Soviet era, and it is not accepted by the West, so about half of the Russians naturally miss or affirm the Soviet era.
Looking at it the other way around, it may be clearer: if after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia became better, or if the West really accepted Russia, would there still be so many Russians who miss or affirm the Soviet Union?
Finally, there are three more points worth thinking about on the topic of this article:
First of all, in the 90s of the last century, was the collapse of the USSR really the will of the majority of the people?Of course, no matter what the truth is, there is no way to go back now, what is the use of not cherishing it when you have it, and only remembering or regretting it after you lose it?
Secondly, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, American friends poured a big drug of "shock", and as a result, they grabbed a lot of wealth and created hell on earth, which has an impact to this day. Therefore, you can't listen to what the West fools, but look at what they have done!
Third, both geographically and culturally, ** is closer to the West than China, and the West, led by the United States, still treats ** like this, so how will it treat China?Or will they look the other way and really help China?
References: The data in this article are mainly derived from "Wu Huixin and Xu Xiaoyi - 30 Years of the Collapse of the Soviet Union: Changes and Reflections on the Evaluation of the Soviet Union in Russian Society".