Culture and Post-Soviet Transitions: A Pilot Study in the Republic of Armenian

In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia declared its independence and thus began her abrupt journey back to democracy and a free-market economy. Using semistructured interviews, this study examined the differences in values, beliefs, and attitudes among three differnet age groups of Armenians about the post-transition world. The groups were Generation1 (those who lived under the Soviet system), Generation 2 (those who grew up under the Soviet system and have lived in the post-Soviet Armenia), and Generation 3 (those who were either still children during the Soviet Union or were born after its demise). The study found one major theme for each cohort: nostalgia, ambivalence–nostalgia, and euphoria–nostalgia, respectively. Nationalism was common to all groups, though not as prevalent as nostalgia. The study can help expand understanding of the link between micro issues (e.g., values, beliefs, and attitudes) and macro issues (e.g., history, economic systems, post-Soviet transition, and globazliation), as well as provide insight into the policy implications of micro issues.