Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

Igor V. Zadorin. “Monitoring social moods in the post-Soviet space:EDB Integration Barometer”The Economics of the Post-Sovietand Eurasian IntegrationDo you think the countries of the former USSR will become closer or distance themselvesfrom each other in the next five years?TajikistanKazakhstanKyrgyzstanUzbekistanBelarusRussiaAverageMoldovaArmeniaUkraineAzerbaijanGeorgia62%23% 5%53%46%28%33%5%9%46% 20% 7%41%41%40%38%34%28%27%34%33%30%30%41%32%33%7%11%12%18%8%17%29%26% 26% 15%The countries will becomecloserNothing will change in thisregardThe countries will distancethemselves fromCannot sayAnother type of integration preferences depending on age is typical for Georgia,Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia – the younger the age, themore often EU countries and the rest of the world are mentioned, while thepercentage of references to post-Soviet states stays virtually unchanged. Thekey difference between the listed countries and the Central Asian countries andAzerbaijan is that their older respondents do not differ greatly in their integrationpreferences from the representatives of the middle and younger age category.Therefore, the older generation of the Central Asian countries is experiencinggreater attraction to the post-Soviet states.This was the first time a large-scale survey of public opinion on the issues ofpost-Soviet integration, covering establishment of economic and cooperationlinks, social and business contacts and cultural interaction, has been held in theCIS countries. The result was a detailed view of the preferences of citizens ofthe CIS countries with regard to a variety of aspects of integration and regionalcooperation. It is assumed that the EDB Integration Barometer survey will beheld annually as a monitoring survey, which will make it possible to evaluatelong-term trends in public opinion in the CIS countries.Eurasian Development Bank163