Political and Social Attitudes in the 1995 Russian Election

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This is a project submitted under Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER). It is designed to obtain public opinion data prior to the 1995 Russian legislative election during a period of rapid social change in Russia and the potential emergence of new obstacles to democratization. The research will make significant substantive and theoretical contributions to our understanding of how major social changes, including the creation of new institutions, lead to social dislocations and rising tensions related to regional, urban/rural, and ethnic and religious cleavages. It is a follow-up of a survey conducted around the 1993 election, enabling the researchers to measure changing public perceptions and levels of discontent. Analysis is based on a national survey of 4,000 respondents. %%% This research will contribute to sociological understanding of the process of democratization and its effects on diverse population groups. An examination of public reactions to rapid social changes and to the opportunities for expressing political choices will demonstrate the ways in which the Russian situation is similar or different from that of other countries undergoing a transition to democracy. In addition to the scientific gains from this research, the project will encourage scientific ties with researchers in Russia.