Alienation, Apathy, or Ambivalence? “Don't Knows” and Democracy in Russia

Since the heady, early days of the Gorbachev reform period, the Russian people have become not only subjects of historical transformation but also, increasingly, objects of opinion surveys. Western researchers, new Russian commercial operations, and local academics recently freed from the restrictions of stagnation ( zastoi ) have been asking Russians much more probing questions than they were previously able to. Rather than provide a detailed description of how they spend their leisure time, Russian citizens have been asked to evaluate their political leaders, to project their nation's future, and to offer opinions on emerging democratic and market systems. Many Russians have responded to this barrage of questions with “I don't know.” For instance, in a 1992 survey headed by Richard Rose, when Russians were asked whether the words Marxism-Leninism evoked positive or negative feelings, 46 percent answered “I find it hard to say.” An identical percentage declined to evaluate the word capitalism .