This is a longitudinal study of youth in areas of the former Soviet Union. It is Wave 4 of "Paths of a Generation," a longitudinal study of graduates from a stratified, clustered sample of secondary schools in 1983-1984, in five of the successor states of the Soviet Union: Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and Tajikistan. The researchers will also analyze the data from Wave 4, as well as data on the same individuals collected in the three earlier waves (in 1983-1984, 1988-1989, and 1993-1994). The main aims are (a) to understand the structure and mechanisms generating social stratification and social inequalities in both the Soviet period and the period since the Soviet collapse; (b) to test theories about the relative importance of structural, cultural, and individual factors affecting social inequalities; (c) to examine the impact of these factors and of social inequalities on political attitudes and participation; (d) to compare these processes in the Soviet successor states with those in other countries, including both other former state-socialist countries and market-oriented industrial societies. An important feature of the project will be to capitalize on a valuable existing longitudinal data base. This research project is among the very most significant longitudinal studies of individuals in diverse areas of the former Soviet Union during a period of dramatic social change. Thus it will provide priceless insight into the transformation of these societies, whose stability is of such great importance for the world. Employing advanced methods of statistical analysis, this study will also test fundamental theories concerning stratification, mobility and other processes of great interest to sociologists.
