This survey took place between 18-22 August 2017 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the number of participants.
The statistical error of these studies for a selection of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%
2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%
1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ON THE STALINIST REPRESSIONS ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO AGREE WITH? (respondents were offered a card; single answer; arranged according to August 2017)
| Jul. 00 | Dec. 07 | Aug. 17 | |
| This was a time of mass terror for people in our country | 58 | 53 | 41 |
| The repressions were related to the party “purges” and primarily concerned the political elite | 14 | 18 | 22 |
| The repressions mainly dealt with “enemies of the people” | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| The Stalinist repressions are a myth that is being exaggerated by certain media outlets | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| It is difficult to say | 11 | 16 | 20 |
WHAT DO YOU THINK MOTIVATED THOSE WHO ORGANIZED AND IMPLEMENTED THE REPRESSIONS? (Respondents were offered a card; multiple answers; arranged according to August 2017)
| Aug. 07 | Aug. 12 | Aug. 17 | |
| Fear of falling victim to the repressions | 55 | 47 | 46 |
| A sense of obligation to follow orders | 23 | 22 | 26 |
| Ideology | 19 | 21 | 21 |
| Self-interest | 18 | 18 | 12 |
| They didn’t have any particular motivation, they did it indifferently and without thinking | 9 | 20 | 6 |
| Sadism | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| It is difficult to say | 13 | 15 | 14 |
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING MEASURES TO MEMORIALIZE THE VICTIMS OF THE STALINIST REPRESSIONS?
| Yes | No | It is difficult to say | ||
| Creating memorial books and monuments to repression victims in Russian cities and places where victims died | Aug. 17 | 68 | 17 | 16 |
| May 11 | 70 | 19 | 11 | |
| Social support for citizens who lived through the repressions | Aug. 17 | 67 | 15 | 16 |
| May 11 | 78 | 12 | 10 | |
| Recognizing Stalin’s mass repressions as a crime perpetrated by the government | Aug. 17 | 52 | 24 | 24 |
| May 11 | 64 | 15 | 22 | |
| Declassifying records related to the mass repressions | Aug. 17 | 67 | 16 | 18 |
| May 11 | 68 | 18 | 15 | |
| Finishing the rehabilitation of citizens who were convicted for political reasons throughout different periods of Soviet history | Aug. 17 | 58 | 20 | 22 |
| May 11 | 72 | 14 | 15 | |
| Passing a law that would prohibit naming cities, streets, squares, etc. after people who were accessories to the mass repressions | Aug. 17 | 45 | 26 | 29 |
| May 11 | 53 | 26 | 22 |
PEOPLE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN PREPARING TO ERECT MONUMENTS TO STALIN IN SOME RUSSIAN CITIES. WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THIS?
| Apr. 05 | Aug. 17 | |
| Very positive | 9 | 8 |
| Somewhat positive | 27 | 31 |
| Somewhat negative | 31 | 27 |
| Very negative | 22 | 11 |
| It is difficult to say | 12 | 23 |
| Total | I have family members who were victims of the Stalinist repressions | I don’t have family members who were victims of the Stalinist repressions | I don’t know | |
| Number of respondents | 1602 | 337 | 817 | 448 |
|
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ON THE STALINIST REPRESSIONS WOULD YOU BE MOST LIKELY TO AGREE WITH? |
||||
| This was a time of mass terror for people in our country | 41 | 54 | 39 | 37 |
| The repressions were related to the party “purges” and primarily concerned the political elite | 22 | 20 | 23 | 20 |
| The repressions mainly dealt with “enemies of the people” | 11 | 10 | 13 | 9 |
| The Stalinist repressions are a myth that is being exaggerated by certain media outlets | 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| It is difficult to say | 20 | 13 | 16 | 30 |
|
WHAT DO YOU THINK MOTIVATED THOSE WHO ORGANIZED AND IMPLEMENTED THE REPRESSIONS? |
||||
| Fear of falling victim to the repressions | 46 | 52 | 45 | 45 |
| A sense of obligation to follow orders | 26 | 31 | 27 | 22 |
| Ideology | 21 | 24 | 21 | 20 |
| It is difficult to say | 14 | 7 | 14 | 20 |
| Self-interest | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| Sadism | 6 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
| They didn’t have any particular motivation, they did it indifferently and without thinking | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
|
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT THE CREATION OF MEMORIAL BOOKS/MONUMENTS TO REPRESSION VICTIMS IN RUSSIAN CITIES AND PLACES WHERE VICTIMS DIED? |
||||
| Yes | 68 | 80 | 66 | 62 |
| No | 17 | 9 | 21 | 15 |
| It is difficult to say | 16 | 11 | 14 | 23 |
|
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR CITIZENS WHO SURVIVED THE REPRESSIONS? |
||||
| Yes | 69 | 79 | 68 | 62 |
| No | 15 | 9 | 18 | 15 |
| It is difficult to say | 16 | 12 | 14 | 23 |
|
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT THE RECOGNITION OF STALIN’S MASS REPRESSIONS AS A CRIME PERPETRATED BY THE GOVERNMENT? |
||||
| Yes | 52 | 63 | 50 | 47 |
| No | 24 | 16 | 28 | 25 |
| It is difficult to say | 24 | 21 | 23 | 29 |
|
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT THE DECLASSIFICATION OF RECORDS RELATED TO THE REPRESSIONS? |
||||
| Yes | 67 | 78 | 63 | 65 |
| No | 16 | 10 | 20 | 12 |
| It is difficult to say | 18 | 12 | 17 | 23 |
|
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT FINISHING THE REHABILITATION OF CITIZENS WHO WERE CONVICTED FOR POLITICAL REASONS THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF SOVIET HISTORY? |
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| Yes | 58 | 69 | 56 | 52 |
| No | 20 | 14 | 24 | 18 |
| It is difficult to say | 22 | 17 | 20 | 30 |
|
WOULD YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT A LAW THAT WOULD PROHIBIT NAMING CITIES, STREETS, SQUARES, ETC. AFTER PEOPLE WHO WERE ACCESSORIES TO THE MASS REPRESSIONS? |
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| Yes | 45 | 53 | 44 | 42 |
| No | 26 | 20 | 30 | 25 |
| It is difficult to say | 29 | 27 | 27 | 33 |
|
PEOPLE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN PREPARING TO ERECT MONUMENTS TO STALIN IN SOME RUSSIAN CITIES. WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THIS? |
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| Very positive | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Somewhat positive | 31 | 29 | 36 | 26 |
| Somewhat negative | 27 | 33 | 24 | 28 |
| Very negative | 11 | 18 | 9 | 10 |
| It is difficult to say | 23 | 12 | 23 | 31 |
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).
The ANO Levada Center has been forcibly included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents. Read the Director of the Levada Center’s statement of disagreement with this decision here [1].