Support for Democracy and Autocracy in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1992—2002

This article analyzes the “realist” support for the current regime as well as the support for democracy as a set of “idealist” principles in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It also analyzes political support for nondemocratic regimes as alternatives to democratic governance. The main conclusion of this article is that mass public support for democracy as the best form of government encompasses an absolute majority of citizens in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, and Belarus as well as a relative majority of Russian citizens. Political support for the current regimes declined between 1992 and 2002 and collapsed in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia. This collapse of public support for the current political regime contributed to the “revolutions” in Georgia and Ukraine. The proportion of supporters for authoritarian regimes in Russia and the other post-Soviet countries decreased from about one-third to onefifth of their respective electorates. This cross-national study provides empirical evidence of increasing support for democracy as an ideal form of government and a corresponding decrease in support for autocracy in eight political regimes in the Commonwealth of Independent States area in the period from 1992 until 2002.