In Russia, Visions of the Future Evolve

How do you measure a country's hope? Quality-of-life indexes offer an overview of how well the population of a given country lives on average, based on factors such as life expectancy, employment rate and per capita gross domestic product. But although this metric gives an idea of how people may feel about their lives and countries today, it doesn't necessarily reflect their desires or expectations for the future. In Russia, parents' dreams for their children, as recorded in polls taken periodically in the 25 years since the Soviet Union's collapse, provide unusual insight into the level of optimism among the country's population. Their varying responses through times of trial and triumph illustrate Russia's post-Soviet transformation and reveal its people's hopes for the future....