The Museum of Communist Terror commissioned polling at the centenary of Lenin’s death to survey the public’s attitudes towards Lenin, communism, socialism, Marxism, and the Russian Revolution.

Age

Young people have much more positive views of Lenin, communism and socialism, with a significant cohort difference between those aged 18-35 (particularly 18-24), and those aged 45+.

• Although only one in ten (10%) of the population have a favourable impression of communism, fully one in four (24%) of 18–24-year-olds do, versus just 4 percent of those aged 65+

• Similarly, 15% of 18-24-year-olds have a favourable impression of Lenin, versus 3% of those 65+

• 42% of 18-24-year-olds have a favourable view of socialism, while 17% have an unfavourable view. Only 25% of 65+ have a favourable view and 39% have an unfavourable view

Education Level

Education is a highly significant predictor of attitudes towards the ideology, with the most educated being those most likely to have favourable impressions of each subject.

• Five percent of those with secondary-school education have a favourable view of communism, versus 19% of those with a higher university degree (beyond undergraduate level)

• Five percent of those with secondary-school education have a favourable view of Lenin versus 14% of those with a higher university degree

Gender

Men consistently have more favourable impressions of each subject, although the gender disparity is nowhere near as accentuated as the age or education level.

• Men have a 50% more favourable impression of communism than women (12% v 8%), with a smaller but still significant gap in attitudes towards socialism (32% v 26%).

Social Grade

Those of a higher social grade have more favourable impressions of each subject, despite the intuitive association between Marxism, communism and socialism and the working classes.

• 36% of those in AB social grade have a favourable view of socialism compared to 22% of DE social grade

And beyond…

• More people have a favourable impression of socialism than an unfavourable one

• 1 in 5 Brits have not heard of Lenin

• There is a high degree of ambivalence towards the subject; over 1 in 4 people have neutral feelings