The views of Russians, according to the "Pew Institute". True or false?
Another article I read, alongside the one about Alexei Navalny (see separate thread). It's part of a series covering Russia ahead of the 2012 election.
Header was "Russians miss the USSR". Clicking on the link gives a different header, "Russians view the past with mixed feelings".
The article is based on a survey that was made by something called the "Pew Institute"
Quote:
"The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C."
(Hmmmm...... Sweden is close to Russia, why does a Swedish paper need to use an American survey to find out what Russians think?? They could get to St Petersburg with a 1 hour flight and find out for themselves...)
The article claims:
Quote:
Due to the high level of corruption currently prevalent, Russians have a negative view of the changes since 1991. 42 percent say that the change to market economy was good. 50% think that it was good to have a multi-party system.
That makes me wonder, what does everyone else want...?
Quote:
When asked "Who is most likely to be able to solve problems with corruption and criminality" 32% answered "A democratic government". 57 said "a strong leader".
Quote:
The Pew institute asked 1000 Russians whether they considered the fall of the USSR a "tragic accident". 50% said Yes and 36% said No. Furthermore, 48% of those asked agreed with the statement "It is natural for Russia to have an empire".
Quote:
The icon of the West, Michail Gorbatjov, who put a stop to the USSR - is much hated in Russia today, similarily Boris Jeltsin who founded modern Russia. Many view him as the root of the problems of modern Russia.
The article goes on to comment that a massive super power just "gave up" with hardly no deaths or internal fighting.
Quote:
There was no bloodbath, despite the fact that this was a powerful empire with over 100 ethnic groups within its borders, not to mention enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet many times over.
(I just included this because I personally think it's an interesting fact.)
Quote:
"I lost my motherland and I still mourn this occassionally", says Genadij Burbulis who visited the conference in Gothenburg. "But at the same time, the country was a prison." (surely not to him, he was a minister!)
The article ends (surprise, surprise....) with the mandatory speculation about whether Putin has plans to resurrect the USSR in a modern guise, for example the freetrade union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, plus some other countries that also want to join:
Quote:
Critics claim that military cooperation between ex Soviet countries easily could end up under the control of the new Union which is dominated by 80% ethnic Russian functionaries. They claim that Putin's goal is to create a cluster of obedient buffer states surrounding Russia.
Good luck organising a joint defense...lol.... The EU has wanted to do that for 20 years and had no success whatsoever! I predict it's a hopeless cause...
Do you agree with the views above, or what do you think of them? Do you agree that the statements are representative of peoples opinion or is the survey biased?
