print”This Beautiful Word Inspired Us”:
the Attitudes of Generations of Buryatia Residents Toward the Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dashibalova I.N.
Cand. Sci. (Philos.), Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Mongolia, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russia. dashibalonirina@gmail.com
Dashibalova I.N. ”This Beautiful Word Inspired Us”: the Attitudes of Generations of Buryatia Residents Toward the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 1. P. 167-172
Modern Russian society is experiencing a rise in nostalgic feelings regarding the collapse of the Soviet Union. A study conducted in the Republic of Buryatia through a questionnaire survey (2018–2020, N = 778) and focus groups (2024, 30 participants) on attitudes toward the dissolution of the USSR reveals both similarities and discrepancies in the perceptions by different generations. The findings indicate that the older generation exhibits a high level of nostalgia for Soviet society. In contrast, young people generally do not express regret over the dissolution of the Soviet Union; some are engaged in contemporary analogs of Soviet youth movements and demonstrate a historical and cultural interest in them.In Buryatia, there are twice as many urban residents as rural ones who do not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union. A regional characteristic of nostalgic attitudes is the sympathy of low-income groups for the image of the Soviet Union. As shown by the insights of focus group participants, positive memories reflect their youth and serve as a form of psychological protection in the current socio-economic conditions.
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