What does the Soviet Union mean to Russians?

The USSR is in the past. But this bygone era still evokes strong feelings for Russians. More than 50 percent of Russians claim to harbor nostalgia for the Soviet era. Sociologists say this positive attitude towards a communist past is both a reflection of today’s economic challenges and the way the USSR has been romanticized in pop culture.

We take a closer look at Russians' complicated relationship with their Soviet past.

1:07 What is it, that people miss?
2:13 Soviet design
3:02 Why are people nostalgic?
3:54 Not everyone is convinced