The majority of Russians regret the collapse of the Soviet Union, a report by independent pollster the Levada Center has revealed.
Some 56 percent of respondents said they regretted the fall of Communism, while just 28 percent said that they felt no regret, the Interfax news agency reported. Sixteen percent of respondents gave no answer.
Of those who were unhappy with the collapse of the USSR, 53 percent said that they missed the unified economic system, while 43 percent begrudged Russia's loss of power on the world stage.
Others said that it was now more difficult to travel, and that there was more "mutual distrust and bitterness" in the world.
Russians who said they did not regret the end of the USSR blamed “the complete exhaustion of communist ideology,” “the heavy military burden on the country's economy,” and “poverty and stagnation” for ordinary Russians.
The survey was carried out Nov. 18 - 21 among 1,600 people in 134 Russian towns, cities, and villages.
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