ABSTRACT
The older generation, which experienced one or more of the many traumatic events in Soviet history, is apparently more philosophical about current failings of the Soviet economy. The strength and direction of generational differences may be the single most significant finding to date. Generational differences surface in almost all analyses, and the differences being found are true generational differences and not merely life-cycle effects. The older generation is unforgiving of Stalinism and correspondingly more forgiving of contemporary problems. Ironically, the young, successful generation reported itself as the most highly “mobilized” of any generation ever in the formal sense of the word. The General Survey reveals an unambiguous and negative relationship between the level of educational attainment and the level of support for various political and economic institutions of the Soviet system, other things equal. The generational factor offers, then, a challenge for Soviet leadership and one that is likely to increase over time.
