ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on the images, perceptions and values that developed and disappeared in Russian society after the Soviet Union’s disintegration. The image of authority is especially important in this context, because the post-Soviet psychological drama revolves around the authorities and people’s relationship and attitude to them. The developments of the last 25 years in Russia have been dramatic. It is not surprising that Vladimir Putin in 2005 described the processes that took place after 1991 as one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of the twentieth century. Russian sociologist Boris Grushin coined the term ‘social quakes’ to describe the tectonic shift that dislocated the very foundations of life in the country and swept away old standards and values, with new ones struggling to develop in their place. Many people have lost not only their money and jobs, but also their country. Fortunately, the changes that began in 1991 are not a revolution, even though they are comparable to the tragic events of 1917 in duration and social impact.
