How many years ahead can you confidently talk about your future?

What the "correct" answer to this question should be is unknown. People say that there used to be "confidence in the future," but now there is none. None since the Russians parted with two hopes in a very short time. The first was that "the current generation of Soviet people will live under communism" - or at least under a more decent socialism. Some had already become disillusioned with this prospect by the early 90s, and for others, whether they believe in it or not, it became unrealistic after the dissolution of the CPSU. But then the second hope came to replace it - that now nothing prevents us from living peacefully and prosperously under democracy and the market, like all normal countries.

This dream collapsed very quickly. With its end, an existence without hopes began, and therefore, without a future. The country began to be drawn to the past, they began to look for consolation and strengthening of the spirit there. But everyone’s vision of the past turned out to be different, and this does not strengthen or console. As for the present, it seemed to many, forgive the pun, unreal. The system under which we live has no name, whether it will last forever or not is unknown. And then a new unknown president appeared. He began to very specifically strengthen the present and return some things from the Soviet past. But with the future, things did not work out. Russians stubbornly insisted - and continue to insist - that they cannot see the future. In a very recent survey, less than 3% of the elderly and less than 1% of the young decided to predict the future “many years ahead.” In general, the main planning horizon for young people is “the next year or two” (47%), while older people insist: “I don’t know what will happen to me even in the next few months” (58%).

When respondents answer the question given at the beginning of the column, the future is understood as state-public, which the government should provide us all with. But the government, Russians lament, is more concerned with its own interests (“corrupt” – 48%), and is not concerned with the common good. That is why the answer about the absence of a future that can be counted on is, like many other answers given to interviewers of sociological services, an allegory of reproach: “You have deprived us of a future <...>!”

But according to the old habit of the Russian mass consciousness, even if the government is bad, the supreme ruler himself is probably good. That is why Putin's return caused a surge of "confidence in the future" in 12% of the population. If we ignore the fact that this return did not cause "any special feelings" in a quarter and "a feeling of hopelessness" in 8%, then the main thing should be considered the answer that Putin's return caused "hope". And now 44% of ordinary residents of the country express hope that "over the next six years of Putin's rule, Russia will enter the top ten most economically developed and prosperous countries". But, alas, more than half of those who govern them, their bosses at the lower and middle levels of management, do not believe in this.

Alexey Levinson: The system under which we live has no name, is it forever or not – is unknown