ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we will show how the specificity of past Soviet regime impacts young people’s current citizenship activity. We compare three groups of countries – post-SU countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), post-SU satellites (Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary) and post-Soviet independent countries (Slovenia, Portugal, Greece and Finland). We managed to show that in each group of countries general patterns of citizenship forms and behaviours were the same. However, passive citizenship was lowest in the post-SU satellite countries, semi-active citizenship was highest in the independent countries and active citizenship was highest in the post-Soviet countries. Scores of national identity, loyalty, civic virtues and personal development were highest among students in independent countries. Students from post-Soviet countries in comparison to students from the other countries manifested the lowest scores in loyalty, but the highest engagement in political and change-oriented activity. They were in the middle position in terms of national identity. Students from post-SU satellites in comparison to students from the other countries declared the lowest national identity and lowest engagement in political activity. They were in the middle position in loyalty. In post-Soviet states, there were more political activists and Alienated politicians; in post-SU satellites, there was over-representation of alienated individualists, and, finally, in post-SU independent countries, there was a slight over-representation of apolitical activists.
