New Russia Barometer I
INTRODUCTION: We live in a time of big changes in our society. I would
like to ask your opinion about things that people talk about today.
1. With the liberalization of the market, some people have been able to
make more money. Which of these words do you think applies to people
who are now making money?
Applies/Doesn't apply
a) Lucky
b) Work hard
c) Take advantage of other people
d) Help make our economy grow
e) Use political connections, nomenklatura
f) Intelligent
g) Use foreign connections
h) Dishonest
2. People hold different views about the economy. For each pair of
statements, which is closer to your own view.
a) Incomes should be made more equal
OR
Individual effort should determine how much people earn
b ) Individuals should take responsibility for themselves
OR
The state should be responsible for providing for every family
c) State ownership is the best way to run an enterprise
OR
An enterprise is best run by entrepreneurs producing goods people
want
d) A good job is one that is secure even if it doesn't pay much
OR
A good job pays good money, even if it risks unemployment
e) Government should cut taxes even if it reduces spending on
education, health care and pensions
OR
Even if it means people like myself paying more in taxes, government
should spend more on education, health and pensions.
3. What effect do you think it would have/has on your own family
situation if/when the government:
Better off/Worse off/No difference/Don't know
a) Takes controls off prices
b) Reduces public spending on social benefits
c) Lets people buy goods imported from the West if they can afford them
d) Sells state enterprises to private owners
e) Takes measure to bring down inflation
f) Allows foreigners to buy shares in state enterprises
g) Most farming is done by private owners or land
h) Sets a high rate of interest for borrowing money
i) Government increases everybody's wages
j) Strikes are made illegal
I PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
A) Job in Official Economy
4. Do you have a regular job?
Yes/No
Economic status:
Employed/Student/Maternity leave/Retired/Housewife/
Unemployed/ Other
4a. Are you the head of your household?
Yes/No
4b. Does the head of your household have a regular job?
Yes/No/Don't know, no answer
5. What is the occupation of the head of your household?
Higher managerial/Natural Science/Humanitarian/Army, Police/Clerk/Foremen/Skilled manual/Unskilled manual/Other, no answer
6. What is your occupation?
Higher managerial/Natural Science/Humanitarian/Army, Police/Clerk/Foremen/Skilled manual/Unskilled manual/Other, no answer
7. What type of employer do you have?
State, cooperative/Private, cooperative/Other new/Other/Don't know
8. At your place of work, how many hours a week do people REALLY
spend producing things for the enterprise?
All the time/Almost all the time/More than half/About half/ Less
than half/ Very little, none/Don't know
9. How satisfied are you with your job?
Very satisfied/Fairly satisfied/Fairly dissatisfied/Very
dissatisfied/Don't know
10. Besides your pay, do you get any benefits as part of your job, such as:
Meals/Housing/Medical care/Holiday facilities/Kindergarten/
Holiday for children/Food packages/Goods in short supply/Other
11. Altogether, how many people in your household have a regular job?
None/1/2/3/More than 3
12. Currently, do you and your family earn enough from your regular job
to buy the things that your family needs?
Definitely yes/Just enough/Not quite enough/Definitely not/Don't
know
B) Second Job
13. Do you have a second job in which you sometimes ear money?
Yes/No
14. IF YES: Is this job:
State cooperative/Private cooperative/Other
15. Is the work in your second job similar to what you do in your first job?
Yes, the same/Somewhat similar/Different/Varies
16. About how many hours a week do you work at this job?
Up to 4/5 to 8/9 to 12/13 to 16/17 to 24/25 to 32/33 to 40/More
than 40
17. How satisfied are you with your second job?
Very satisfied/Fairly satisfied/Fairly dissatisfied/Very dissatisfied
18. Currently, how important is your second job for getting the things that
you and your family need?
Very important/Fairly important/Not very important/Not at all
important
19. If you had to make a choice, would you rather spend all your time on
the first job that you mentioned or on your second job?
First job/Second job/Keep both/Neither
20. Altogether, how many people in your household have a second job?
None/One/Two/More than three
C) Household, Family Production
Food:
21. Does your household have any land where you grow food?
Yes/No
22. IF YES, how much land in hectares?
Less than 0.02/0.021-0.04/0.0401-0.06/0.0601-0.08/0.0801-0.1/0.1001-0.2/More than 0.2/Don't know
23. How long does it take to get to this land?
No time, by the house/Up to 15 minutes/30 minutes/1 hour/Several
hours or more/Don't know
IF NO LAND:
24. Do you have relatives or friends with land to grow food?
Yes/No
25. IF YES: Help friends grow food?
Yes/No
ASK ALL:
26. Do friends sometimes give or sell you food?
Give it/Sell it/Some of each/Neither/Not given food
27. About how much time do you or other members of your family spend
growing food?
Several hours a day/Several times a week/Weekends/Just from time
to time/Don't know
28. Does your family sometimes sell this food in the free market?
Often/Sometimes/Occasionally/Never, not applicable/Don't know
29. How much of your food has your family raised in the past year?
Most of what we need/Some/Not very much/None/Don't know
30. About how much time do you spend each day standing in queues or
searching for what you need in shops?
Not my duty/Half an hour or less/About one hour/About two
hours/About three hours/About four hours/More than four hours
Housing:
31. Who is the owner of your home?
Owned by family/Privately rented/Cooperative/ State or local
council/Enterprise
32. How did you get the home you now live in?
Live with parents/Inherited/Local Authority/From
employer/Exchange/Cooperative/Bought it/Built it ourselves
33. Do you or anyone in your family make repairs to your home or build
any additions?
Often/Sometimes/Seldom/Never
34. Do you ever have other people help you do jobs around the house/flat?
(more than one answer permitted).
Friends/Relatives/Pay people to help/Other/No-one helps
D) Social Exchange of Goods and Services
35. Do you or other members of your household ever help friends or
relatives to do things?
Yes/No
Ways of helping: (% helping)
Looking after children/Growing food/Making clothes/Helping
build, repair house/Queuing, buying things/Cooking, washing/ Use car
to take people places/Other
36. Do you get paid for this or do your friends and relatives sometimes
help you in exchange? (% helping)
Usually paid/Not paid; helped in exchange/Both/Neither/Other
37. About how many hours a week do you spend helping people like this?
(% helping)
Very little/Up to5/About 10/About 15/About 20/More than
20/Don't know
38. Do you or other members of your household ever ask friends or
relatives to help you do things?
Yes/No
Ways of being helped:
Looking after children/Growing food/Making clothes/Helping
build, repair house/Queuing, buying things in shops/Cooking, washing/
Car to take you places/Other
39. Do you pay them or sometimes help others in exchange? (% being
helped)
Usually pay/Help in exchange/Both/Neither/Can't help
E) Allocation through connections
40. In the last year or two, have you or anyone in your household gone to
someone to get things you couldn't get in the ordinary way?
Yes/No
Used connections for: (% answering yes)
Doctor/Medicine/Getting house, repairs/Consumer goods/Clothes,
food/Car repairs/Holidays/Hospital/Kindergarten/Private
teacher/Better school/Other
IF YES, uses connections
41. Was the person you asked:
Relative/Friend/Friend of friend/Stranger
42. How often do you have to use this connection?
Often/Occasionally/Only once/Don't know
43. Is it expensive?
Very expensive/Fairly expensive/Not very expensive/Practically
nothing/Free/Don't know
44. Would you say that to get a house or flat in this neighbourhood, most
people need to have connections?
Yes certainly/It usually helps/Not usually/Not at all/Don't know
45a. Are you asked to do favours?
Yes/No/No answer
45. How often are you asked to do favours for other people? (% doing
favours)
Often/Occasionally/Seldom/Never
46. How often do people offer you money for favours? (% doing favours)
Often/Occasionally/Seldom/Never
F) Foreign Currency
47. In the past year have you been able to buy things at home with foreign
currency?
Often/Occasionally/Rarely/Never/No answer
48. In the past year have you bought things abroad with foreign currency?
Often/Sometimes/Rarely/Never/No answer
49. What sort of things have you bought with foreign currency?
(as % those answering YES; more than one answer permitted).
Household goods/Food or medicine/ Holiday travel/Car/Paying
for favours/Home or second house/Clothes, footwear/Professional
necessities/Giving a bribe/Other
49b. How many of your acquaintances have been able to get foreign
currency during the last year?
Most people/Less than half/Very few/None
49c. What sort of things do you think people usually buy with foreign
currency? (All respondents; more than one answer permitted)
Household goods/Food or medicine/ Holiday travel/Car/Paying
for favours/Home or second house/Clothes, footwear/Professional
necessities/Giving a bribe/Other
G) Dominant Economic Sectors
50. Which is the most important for the standard of living of you and your
family today?
a) Most important
Earnings from first job
Earnings from second job
Earnings from business
Growing food, repair house
Help of friends, relatives
What we get from connections
Getting paid on the side
Savings
Other
Use of foreign currency
Don't know
b) Second most important
Earnings from first job
Earnings from second job
Earnings from business
Growing food, repair house
Help of friends, relatives
What we get from connections
Getting paid on the side
Savings
Other
Use of foreign currency
Don't know
50c. Portfolio
Enterprising/Defensive/Vulnerable/Marginal
II EVALUATION, ASPIRATIONS FOR SELF AND NATION
51. Have you thought of doing any of the following to improve your
economic situation?
Yes/No
a) Start a business/shop/farm
b) Getting a job in another town
c) Getting a job in another country
d) Go to work for another employer
e) Work overtime at my regular job
f) Get a second job
g) Learn a new skill
52. Here are statements people sometimes make about their work. Can you
tell me whether you agree or disagree: (as % employed)
Agree/Disagree/Don't know
a) Too old to do anything different
b) Content with what I have
c) Best way to improve conditions is to go on strike
d) At my place of work, things are so messed up that there is nothing that
I can do
e) No point in seeking a new job: no work around here
f) No point in trying a new job: wouldn't pay any more money
g) No point in trying a new job: can't buy anything more
53. In general, do you think if is more comfortable to live in a Socialist
economy like before the Revolution, or in an economy like we now have?
Socialist more comfortable/Economy like the present/No
difference/Don't know
54. All in all, how do you rate the economic situation of your family today?
Very satisfactory/Fairly satisfactory/Not very satisfactory/Very
unsatisfactory
55. How does it compare with five years ago?
Much better/Little better/Much the same/A little worse/A lot worse
56. What do you think your economic situation will be in five years time?
Much better/A little better/Much the same/A little worse/A lot
worse/Don't know
57. Do you prefer the system of governing that we have now OR the
system we had before perestroika?
Present system better/Previous system better/Don't know
58. Do you prefer an economy in which government is responsible for
everyone's job and determines what shops can sell and sets all the prices,
OR an economy in which everyone is free to seek whatever job he or she
likes, and shops offer at their own price whatever people want to buy?
Controlled economy/Free economy/Don't know
59. Here is a scale ranking how well an economy works. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put the Socialist economy before perestroika?
60. Here is a scale ranking how well an economy works. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put our present economic system?
63. Here is a scale ranking how well an economy works. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put our economic system in five years time?
64a. How about your interest in politics. What part do you take in political
life? (Can give more than one answer)
Yes/No
Watch news on TV
Read about politics in newspapers
Discuss politics with friends
Attend meetings to discuss political problems
Take part in mass demonstrations
Take part in political strikes
Take part in political activities
Formerly took part in political life, but not now
Never interested
64b. Number of political activities
0/1/2/3/4/5+
65. I'd like to ask your opinion about how a country can be governed.
Which statements do you think apply to our system of governing since the
revolution?
Yes/No/Don't know
a) Everybody is free to say what he or she thinks
b) Ordinary people can influence what government does
c) Maintains order in society
d) Protects country against foreign threats
e) Good for country's economy
f) Provides good social benefits such as education, health care
g) Treats Russians fairly
h) Treats Non-Russians fairly
66. I'd like to ask your opinion about how a country can be governed.
Which statements do you think apply to our system of governing in 5 years
time?
Yes/No/Don't know
a) Everybody is free to say what he or she thinks
b) Ordinary people can influence what government does
c) Maintains order in society
d) Protects country against foreign threats
e) Good for country's economy
f) Provides good social benefits such as education, health care
g) Treats Russians fairly
h) Treats Non-Russians fairly
67. Here is a scale for ranking systems of government. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put our system of government before perestroika?
68. Here is a scale for ranking systems of government. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put our present system of governing?
69. Here is a scale for ranking systems of government. The top, plus 100, is the best and the bottom, minus 100, is the worst. Where on this scale would you put our system of governing in five years?
70. Do you consider likely in 1992 mass demonstrations and protests about
the political situation in Russia?
Likely/Unlikely/Don't know
71. Do you consider likely in 1992 mass demonstrations and protests about
inflation?
Likely/Unlikely/Don't know
72. Do you consider likely in 1992 mass demonstrations and protests about
unemployment?
Likely/Unlikely/Don't know
73. If such mass demonstrations and protests occur, will you take part:
Definitely yes/Perhaps/Unlikely/Definitely no/Don't know
a) In demonstrations connected with political situation in the republic?
b) In demonstrations connected with inflation?
c) In demonstrations connected with rising unemployment ?
74. We often hear the following words. What feelings do they evoke?
Positive/Negative/Difficult to answer
a) Christianity
b) Marxism-Leninism
c) Socialism
d) Capitalism
e) Glasnost
f) United and indivisible Russia
g) Perestroika
h) Freedom
75. For whom did you vote at the Russian Presidential election?
Yeltsin/Ryzhkov/Tuleev/Bakatin/Zhirinovsky/Makashov/Didn't
vote, spoiled ballot/No answer
76. If you were to vote for the country's President in a few months time,
whom would you choose?
Yeltsin/Gorbachev/Other/Wouldn't vote/Don't know
77. Which of the following slogans are closer to your feeling? (%
answering YES; maximum of three answers)
Let people do their own thing
Action not words
Trust our leader
Forward into Europe
Preserve the great Russian traditions
Only the market economy will make us prosperous
Government should consist of specialists
First of all, order
Care for people
Everyone should be responsible for own affairs
78. What problems, in your opinion, should the government solve first of
all? (Two answers permitted)
Stop price growth
Stop disorder, criminality
Maintain employment
Improve education, health
Provide food for everybody
Guarantee that goods are on sale in shops
Care for poor, sick
Protect the country from foreign intervention
Don't let the communist party re-establish its control
Reduce environmental pollution
End uncertainty
79. What would you like this country to be?
USSR as it formerly was
United but reformed Soviet Union with strong republics
Russia equal with other republics in Commonwealth of Independent
States
United independent Russia with strong government in Moscow
Russian Federation with strong autonomous republics, territories
Don't know
80. How in your opinion could economic life in the country be better
organised?
Russia should cooperate with other Republics to create common
economic space, currency, prices
Each republic deal with currency and prices on its own
Don't know
III SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS
81. Gender:
Male/Female
82. Are you married or unmarried?
Never been married/Married/Live together but not married/Live
apart but not divorced/Divorced/Widow/widower
83. Total number of people in household:
1 /2 /3 /4 /5 /6+ /Missing
84. Educational level:
Higher education/Unfinished higher education/Post secondary
education/Vocational qualification/Secondary school/At least 8 years of
school and some professional training/Less than 9 years of school/No
answer
85. Nationality:
Russian/Other/Don't know
86. Where do you live?
Moscow or St Petersburg
Oblast/kray capital
An autonomous republic capital
Rayon/autonomous oblast capital town
Another kind of town
Don't know
87. When describing yourself what would you mention first? (two answers
allowed)
Where I live/Nationality/Origin/Education/Place of work/Position
at place of work/Profession/Other
88. If you were asked where you live, what would you mention in reply?
Town/Oblast/Region, e.g. Siberia, Urals/Russia/USSR or
CIS/Europe or Asia
89. Which place would you mention second?
Town/Oblast/Region, e.g. Siberia, Urals/Russia/USSR or
CIS/Europe or Asia
90. Are you currently employed?
Yes/No/Don't know
91. In which branch of the economy are you employed?
Industry, construction/Agriculture/Trade, communal
services/Education system/Health service/ Science, culture, sport/Army,
police/State authorities/Other
92. How long have you held your current job?
Less than 1 year/1-2 years/2-5 years/5-10 years/More than 10 years
93. If you had a choice, would you prefer working for:
State enterprise/Private company/Joint venture/Don't know
94. Are you worried about losing your job?
Yes, very worried/Somewhat worried/No
95. Average monthly family income in rubles
1-200/201-300/301-400/401-500/501-600/601-700/701-800/801-900/901-1000/1001-1200/1201-1400/1401-1500/1501-2000/2000 or more
96. Compared to other families in this country, would you say that your
standard of living is:
Above average/Average/Below average/Don't know
97. Does your family have:
A car/A telephone/A dacha
98. Number of consumer goods: (see question 97)
0/1/2/3
99. Do you have any relatives or close friends living in the West?
None/One or two/A lot/Don't know
100. In the past year, has your family been able to:
Save money/Just get by/Have to spend some savings/Have
to borrow money
101. As for religion, do you consider yourself a believer or not? To what
religion do you belong?
Non-believer/Orthodox/Roman Catholic/Muslim/Judaism/Other
religion/A believer but do not belong to a church/Difficult to give a
definite answer
102. All but non-believers: How often do you go to church?
At least once a week/Once or twice a month/Few times a year/Very
rarely/Never
103. Have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
Still a member/Left the party/Never a member/Don't know
104. If you left the Communist Party, when was it? (% members)
After August, 1991/January - August 1991/1985 - 1990/Before
1985/No answer
105. About how much time did you spend on party work?
Full time functionary/Most of the time/More than half the
time/About one day a week/A few hours a week/An hour a week or
less/None/Don't know
106. Here are phrases that are sometimes used to describe former party
members. Which do you think fits most? (% saying applies: up to 3
answers)
Trying to help other people
Dishonest
Had to join to get a job, promotion
Intelligent, good specialists
Uneducated, unprofessional
Used party for own purposes
Idealists
Had to join to participate in social activities
Inclined to pry into what people do
Same as ordinary people