Authors

• Kääriäinen, Kimmo (Church Research Institute)
• Andreenkov, Vladimir (The Russian Academy of Sciences)

Keywords

family life, gender role, happiness, moral concepts, occupational life, political attitudes, political movements, quality of life, religious attendance, religious beliefs

Abstract

The survey studied the concepts of religion, morals, and values in Russia in the beginning of the 1990s. The respondents were asked how important in life they considered work, family, friends or acquaintances, leisure, politics and religion. They were also asked which groups and associations they belonged to, in which of them they are engaged in voluntary work, and what kind of people they would not have as their neighbours. In addition, they were asked about their general state of health, how they felt about life as a whole, and how happy or unhappy they felt. The respondents were also asked what economical and social factors were the most important to them at work. The respondents were also asked what role owners, the state, and employees should have in the ownership of an enterprise and in choosing management.

Several questions dealt with morals and the meaning of life, the respondents' religiosity, attendance of church services, and their attitude towards the church. In addition, the respondents were asked about their family relations, the meaning of family in their lives, and whether the respondents had the same attitude towards religion, morals, politics, and sexuality as their spouse and parents. Furthermore, the respondents were asked in view of a good marriage, how important they felt faithfulness, material goods, belonging to the same social stratum, mutual respect, same political views, sexual satisfaction, children, and sharing the chores at home.

Relating to children, the respondents were asked the actual and desired number of children in the family, attitudes towards child-rearing, conceptions of the relationship between parents and children, and what kind of values should parents instill in their children. Furthermore, the respondents were asked about their attitudes towards working mothers and the roles of spouses in marriage. There were several questions about attitudes towards politics and political participation. Moreover, the respondents were asked about their conceptions of the country's future and social development. They were also asked how much they trust various institutions in society: the church, armed forces, judicial system, press, trade unions, and the political system as a whole. On the other hand, the respondents were asked how they supported various social movements, like environmental movement, movement against nuclear energy, and women's movement. In relation to their moral conceptions, the respondents were asked about several things, for instance, about using public transport without a ticket, using drugs, prostitution, suicide, and euthanasia. The respondents' conceptions about citizens of various countries were also asked about.

Background variables included the respondent's sex, age, education, profession, place of residence in childhood, size of family, income, nationality of the respondent and other family members, membership in a political party, and political views.