Psychological Responses of Russians to Rapid Social Change in the Former U.S.S.R

This study examined the emotional responses of 80 Russians from Moscow and Voronezh, stratified by age and educational level, to 15 social and political changes which had occurred in the former Soviet Union by 1990. Overall, the lower-educated groups reported feeling more strongly about the changes than the higher-educated groups. In addition, it was found that while particular changes (e.g., lifting of restrictions on travel) provoked similar feelings in all four groups, certain other changes (e.g., appearance of criticism in the mass media of the country's past) provoked both positive and negative feelings among the lower-educated groups, who thus showed a degree of ambivalence about the changes that the higher-educated groups did not. Potential implications for the future of reforms in Russia are noted.