One in Five Russian Wants Return to Soviet SystemOne in five Russians would welcome a return to the old Soviet socialist system, according to a poll published Thursday.Forty eight percent of respondents to the monitoring.ru poll supported Russia's economic reforms in general, while wishing that the population had more social security. Just 16 percent of those polled hoped that the reforms would continue in the same fashion, Interfax reported. A further 16 percent offered no opinion. The economic reforms introduced since th fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 have not profited the majority of the people, and a large number of Russians are considerably poorer than they were under the socialist system. Many Russian view the old days with varying degrees of nostalgia, and most supported the decision to restore the old Soviet national anthem, albeit with modified lyrics. President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, recently said that "anyone who does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, anyone who wants its return has no head". The pollsters quizzed 1,600 people throughout the country in late June. |
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