I work at the Laboratory for Political Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, which is headed by political scientist Valeria Kasamara. Since 2008 we have been carrying out a number of empirical studies that fall under the category of our overarching project on Russian youth, and we've polled and interviewed many university students and high school students across Russia.
Our project analyzes empirical data on Russian students' political perceptions of the past, the present, and the future of Russia. We answer questions about how those who were born after the Soviet Union collapse imagine the future of Russia. We analyze what they know about the history of Russia, and we gather data on their attitudes toward current and historical political leaders. We also ask questions about what events in Russia’s history make young people feel proud of ashamed of Russia. Empirically-grounded answers to such questions may help us understand what views dominate, what youths expect from the government, and whether young people are ready to take an active part in Russian politics or not.
We have published several articles with results of this study, the latest of which came outin March 2017, entitled "Rebuilt Empire or New Collapse? Geopolitical Visions of Russian Students". In it, we conclude that there is a three-way divide in how univeristy students in Russia imagine Russia’s future: the largest group is optimistic about Russia, seeing it as a global power. A second, smaller group expects Russia to decline in the coming years, while the third group is undecided and unwilling to make forecasts. In the article, we analyse the arguments of the ‘optimists’ and ‘pessimists’, who respectively backed and criticised the annexation of Crimea. We highlight especially the association between support for the annexation and optimism about Russia’s future.
You can check out our other publications on the topic here: