Elite Russian University Students Value Self-Realization and Freedom of Choice More than Putin-Promoted Traditional Values, New Survey Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 14 – Four out of five students at the Plekhanov Economic University say their key values are self-realization and freedom of choice rather than a commitment to the traditional values the Putin regime is promoting, Eduard Chekmaryev and Olga Subbotina say.

            The two Moscow political scientists base that conclusion on the basis of a survern y of more than 200 students at the Plekhanov Economic University (“Civilization Approach in Transforming Systems of Today’s Russia Governance,” Vestnik of the Russian University of Economics. 2026: (5):253-266 in Russian at vest.rea.ru/jour/article/view/2911/1587).

            They stress that the source of these values come from the personal experiences of the students rather than the influence of the West but that it shows that the Putin regime has been far less successful in spreading its preferred set of values than many currently believe.

            At the same time, they suggest that those who say their chief values are self-realization and freedom of choice are more likely to be creative and innovative than those who accept the Putin agenda, a pattern that means these ideological outliers may contribute more to the future of Russia’s development than those the regime prefers.