Should we fear the Russians?

You could say that the difference between the totalitarian regime of the 80s and today's democratic system are so different that only someone ignorant or someone with no memory could fail to see that. And yet, only one in four high school students today thinks that life today is better than it was under the communist regime. And 21% think that life under the communism was better or the same.

These statistics come from a recent survey conducted by the People in Need foundation and by the company Millward Brown, which polled a thousand young people in high schools, training schools and apprenticeships. It is the biggest such survey examining the attitudes of the generation born after 1989. The results are without a doubt interesting: They hint at what the Czech Republic could look like in another 20 years.

Surprisingly, young Czechs today, who only experienced life in a democratic society, share many values and opinions with their parents. One of the these opinions – something that seems irrational and hard to believe – is that the communist regime had certain positive qualities. But these shared values also apply to other issues. For instance, Czechs born after 1989 have a cautious approach when it comes to the EU. And yet, this is a generation that can benefit from the Czech Republic's EU membership in very concrete ways (more work opportunities, for example), and the abstract…