November 7 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. One of the questions that will be asked in the media and elsewhere as a result of this time marker will be: did the Soviet Union benefit or harm humanity? The question is too abstract for any meaningful sort of discussion, but it’s important nonetheless.

The conversations regarding this question will inevitably include the following. One person in the conversation may argue that the Soviet Union benefited humanity, or at least defend some aspects of the USSR. Another person in the conversation will respond by saying that a family member of theirs, or a family member of someone they know, or the family member of a friend of a friend, or a dissident they saw on TV, said the Soviet Union was bad, and because they lived in the Soviet Union, they must be right. This has always been a feature of conversations regarding the Soviet Union, but with the recent fixation on “lived experience,” it can be especially effective at ending conversations. It shouldn’t be.

A problem with lived experience arguments with regard to questions like the one mentioned is that they can fall apart when two people in similar demographic groups have opposing viewpoints. For example, calls to support the rebels in Syria have often hinged on claims that the rebels represent the Syrian people. There surely is some support among Syrians, within Syria and in the Diaspora, for the rebels. Yet according to a 2015 survey from ORB international, 47 percent of Syrians believe Assad is having a positive influence on the country, compared to just 35 and 26 percent for the Free Syrian Army and Syrian Opposition Coalition respectively. So, who can truly lay claim to representing the Syrian people? It’s clear that those arguing for support of the rebels in Syria need to shift their focus to something other than claiming that we must listen to the voice of the Syrian people, because there is more than one.

The same is true with regard to the Soviet Union. Anecdotal evidence is not adequate enough as a basis to argue that the Soviet Union harmed humanity. But, since conversations regarding the USSR will often get stuck at this point, here’s a breakdown of what people in former Soviet states have to say about the USSR.

I will start by examining the most recent poll results, and work backwards from there. In cases where poll results overlap (for example, the 2013 and 2015 results of the same survey) I will focus on the most recent results. The surveys consulted primarily come from noted communist sympathizers, Pew Research Center and Gallup Poll.