Russians Split Between Those who Passionately Want a Revived USSR and Growing Number Who're Indifferent to Such a Possibility, Makarkin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 21 – In the 1990s, there was a clear divide among Russians between those who wanted to see a revival of the USSR and those opposed to that idea. But now, Aleksey Makarkin says, there is a very different split: those favoring the revival of the Soviet Union are more radical and vocal, and those opposed to it are largely indifferent to that possibility.

            That doesn’t mean that a greater share of Russians favor a restoration of the USSR than did 30 years ago, the Moscow political analyst says; it only means that they are the only ones taking part in what should be a debate and thus appear to have achieved almost complete dominance (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=63A294F9D5A9E).

            This change, Makarkin continues, reflects changes on both side of this divide. “On the one hand,” there has been a radicalization of those favoring a return to the past, many of whom are now active supporters not simply of Stalin but even of his secret police chief Lavrenty Beriya and ever harsher critics of Khrushchev and Gorbachev.

            And “on the other, ever more Russians find the debate about restoring the USSR of little interest. “They are trying to live in the present and future, to the extent this is possible. Their feelings and their numbers should be kept in mind when reading all the stories now appearing about the centenary of the formation of the USSR.