This study examines the nature and extent of intergenerational change among variously disaffected members of the Soviet population in regard to their support for political institutions. The investigators reanalyze data from the "Harvard Project" of Soviet refugees, which was conducted in the early 1950's, and replicate and reassess some of the key findings of the original analysis. In addition the project draws on two surveys of Soviet emigrants from the late 1970's and early 1980's: the Soviet Interview Project (SIP) General Survey I and the follow.up SIP General Survey II. The findings of the Harvard Project revealed a significant generation gap in the way people viewed the Soviet system under Stalin. The young and highly educated were the most supportive of the Soviet system under Stalin. More recent interviews suggest that this pattern may have been reversed. Alternative Soviet sources for analyzing the intergenerational cleavages in political support manifested by groups in the population are minimal. This investigation should provide new understanding of the political attitudes of significant dissident elements in the USSR overtime by replicating the findings of the Harvard project and reexamining the generational cleavages in political support.
