Attitudes towards Stalin: Ukrainians’ and Russians’ opinions diverge

The vast majority of Ukrainians – 61% – have a negative attitude towards the Russian dictator Joseph Stalin – the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology survey results evidence this. At the same time, the opposite is true in Russia – 60% of Russians perceive the dictator positively.

“Even before the Revolution of Dignity, a minority of the population (23%) had a positive attitude towards Stalin. Although, at the same time, the negative attitude still did not dominate (37%). … After the full-scale invasion, the public opinion of the population crystallized,” the survey materials say.

Sociologists have compared the dynamics of attitudes toward Stalin among Russians and Ukrainians over the past 10 years. Specialists used data from the Levada Center.

“If in 2012 in Ukraine and Russia, approximately the same share of the population had a positive attitude towards Stalin, then later in Ukraine, in general, there were fewer sympathizers of the Soviet dictator, and in Russia, on the contrary, affection for him grew rapidly and now the majority of the population has a positive attitude,” the KIIS reports.

In Ukraine, young and older people are clearly critical of Stalin. In Russia, even among young people aged 18-24, 48% have a positive attitude towards Stalin. The attitude towards Stalin is even more supportive among the older population of Russia.

“The attitude towards Stalin is a bright value marker that demonstrates the difference (chasm) between Ukrainians and Russians,” Anton Hrushetskyi, the KIIS executive director, said.