Why our young have given up on revolution.

last updated 8 January 2015

Russia

Editorial

Don’t expect a color revolution in Russia, said Russia’s Kommersant in an editorial. In other post-Soviet countries, peaceful democratic movements started among the young. In Ukraine, Georgia, and even Kyrgyzstan, youth under 25 poured into the streets to demand that the communist-era holdovers step down. Here, though, the young folk are already too cynical to protest. Public surveys show that Russians ages 18 to 24 are less likely than any other age group to believe that public demonstrations can change government policy. What a contrast with their older brothers and sisters, those in their early 30s, who saw collective protest topple the Berlin Wall and bring down the Soviet Union. These young kids have seen nothing similar. They came of age “at a time when the Russian government was curtailing political freedom.” No wonder they list their top values as “order, security, justice, and tradition.” The concept of revolution “comes in last.”