Saturday, February 3, 2024

Russian Stereotypes About Different Countries - USA

 


Now time have come to cover the country Russia has most stereotypes about, the USA. 

Soviet propaganda was relentless and tireless about informing Soviet public about everything negative that ever happened in America. People knew about lynching, racial discrimination, poverty in the rust belt area and many more issues. About some of these issues Soviet public was probably even better informed that an American one. 

On global scene USSR criticized the US for supporting Apartheid in South Africa as well as Ian Smith's regime in Rhodesia. USSR likely sponsored ZANU of Robert Mugabe as well as Nelson Mandela. USSR did portray itself as friend of African people, there was even and still is Patrice Lumumba People's Friendship University of Russia

In the US defense, American public was also much better informed about life in Vorkuta and Vorkutlag than Soviet public were. They did not specify the name of this city, they just said everything in USSR was like in Vorkutlag.

Overall, the Soviet propaganda aimed to portray the US as an evil mastermind, hell bent on destroying Socialism and plunging the world into a capitalist dystopia. They used cities of American Rust belt as an example of such dystopia. An antagonist to Soviet self-image of a hero of working people worldwide. USSR is Supermen and the US is Doctor Doom, or maybe even USSR is Batman, and the US is Penguin, many capitalists in Soviet propaganda look just like this Batman Comics villain.

By extension NATO and other US allies were portrayed as petty henchman of the evil mastermind. Some as serving him willingly and others coerced by violence.

Soviet propaganda described the US government as cunning, ruthlessness, deceitful and hell bent on destroying Socialism and USSR. Soviet propaganda never ceased to remind Soviet public that the US is constantly plotting to take Socialism down and American spies could be hiding anywhere. McCarthyism on steroids was the rule of life particularly during Stalin era.


In contrast American public was mostly portrayed as victim of capitalist oppression of their ruthless system. USSR constantly used West Virgia and Rust Belt as an example of life in the US. USSR propaganda portrayed issues, that plague this rust belt state as universal and experienced throughout the US by 99% of American people. To keep up with its self-image of the hero of struggling working people USSR even tried to build a bridge in West Virginia. They of course used that fact as showcase how good Socialist USSR cares a lot more for plight of the working people compare to the capitalist USA.


There was dichotomy between the USSR and the US, but also between the US system, that according to the USSR only serves rich and the American public, who was portrayed as victim to this system.


This dichotomy somewhat survived even the collapse of the USSR, albeit with the reversed roles. During Putin era and War on Terror, people on Russian net started semi-seriously call Americans Jedi. Later another pun on Senator (Galactic Emperor from StarWars) Pal-Putin and Darth Med-Vader completed a new picture of global struggle between good and evil. Russia may be a bad guy now (or always was), but the same old struggle between good and evil continues.


Other than that, there is a stereotype that calls American stupid. Russian comedian Zadornov in particular likes this topic and uses some odd examples from American jurisprudence as a prove of his claims.


In reality no everyone in USSR lived like in Vorkutlag, like American propaganda used to claim. Not everyone in USA lived like in Rust Belt, like Soviet Propaganda used to portray it. 

However economically a lot of USSR economy together with Communist party core supporters were just like these Rust Belt area people: industrial workers from mines or large industrial plants. That is why plight of these areas resonated well with Soviet public, even if Rust Belt total population was miniscule compared to the rest of the US.

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