ublic opinion polls reveal the Russian citizenry's profound alienation from the political process. 4 By last fall the "negatives" of both the Supreme Soviet and President Yeltsin were enormous: 59 percent and 44 percent, respectively. Almost 31 percent thought that Yeltsin should resign and 37 percent that Congress should be dissolved. The legitimacy of the local "organs of power" was just as low: only 11 percent of the population viewed them "positively," while 53 percent were "against."
This caught my attention as I feel this statistic helps reinforce the author's perspective. At the beginning of the paper, Aron claims that Russian society is in disarray and is facing crisis after crisis. This public opinion data proves how divided Russia was, and how Russians felt about the government. Local Governments began to ignore federal laws and refuse to hand over taxes. This is a major takeaway as it helps explain what happens when a country is faced with crisis after crisis, while the government doesn't pay attention to its people and continues to remain unstable.