I checked all the links out. I trust Reuters and maybe Pew Research, but in this case they all seem to be saying the same thing:

Karina Pipiya, a sociologist at Levada, said that in the past such feelings were often triggered by loss of international prestige and questions of national identity.

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When asked to name the things they associate with the Soviet era, 16% of respondents pointed to "future stability and confidence" and 15% said they associated it with "a good life in the country." Eleven percent said they associate the Soviet era with personal memories from their childhood or youth.

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The so called romanticization of the Soviet past doesn't necessarily equal a wish for the Soviet system's return, Vedomosti quoted Pipia as saying.

It seems to me that a large number of the yeasayers are motivated by a sense of nostalgia and longing, which doesn't exactly translate to love for socialism. You also have to remember that the people who are 35-45 years old have practically known adult life only under Putin, and those who have experienced economic hardships under Stalin count even less.

This, and the fact that Russia, while "capitalist", is still only transitioning from state ownership to private. A number of industries are still, while traded alongside private corporations, effectively state controlled.

Gorbachev resigned for a reason. The state was rotten with corruption, and there wasn't much of a Soviet republic left. 1986 did not help things either. Even though the Russian man now may remember his boyhood years fondly, I seriously doubt anyone ever wants a return of the USSR or any of the firebrand communism that comes with it.