Anti-American sentiment has been present in Russia for a long time, dating back to the Russian Revolution in 1917. Relations were frozen until 1933, when the US President Franklin Roosevelt decided to establish diplomatic relations with the USSR. The US and the USSR fought alongside each other in World War II, but following the end of the war, the United States was opposed to the Soviet Union's military occupation and domination of Eastern Europe. As tensions grew into the Cold War, relations became hostile with large-scale war plans, but no direct war took place.
Tensions between the two countries were briefly relaxed in the 1970s owing to detente, but relations took a turn for the worse again in the early 1980s with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. By 1989, the communist governments in the Eastern European Soviet satellite states were overthrown, and in 1991, the USSR itself was dissolved, leading to a brief era of cooperation between the US and the newly-formed Russian Federation. With the advent of the 21st century, relations gradually turned hostile, and remain so.
In Russian opinion polls, the United States and its allies have consistently topped the list of Russia's greatest enemies.
History
In 1912, future leader of Soviet Russia Vladimir Lenin described the American two-party system (that is, the Republican and Democratic Parties) as "meaningless duels between the two bourgeois parties". The proposed alternative was the so-called dictatorship of the proletariat where the ruling communist vanguard party is the only allowed political entity.He used terror, torture and murder to impose his totalitarian regime Lenin: numbers, data and images of the crimes of the first communist dictator] How the Red Terror set a macabre course for the Soviet Union]
As early as in 1919, Lenin was recorded addressing Red Army soldiers where he claimed that "capitalists of England, France and America are waging war against Russia". The image of Uncle Sam was also used by the Bolsheviks to portray White Russian forces as foreign-sponsored.
After World War II, the political contradictions between United States and Soviet Union started to grow. As a result, anti-American sentiment grew, driven by state media.
Cold War era politics
As early as the late 1940s, the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party issued decrees and orders to promote anti-American sentiments within the Soviet public. For instance, Central Committee document #148 of 1949 read:"План мероприятия по усилению антиамериканской пропаганды на ближайшее время". Документ агитпропа ЦК, Plan of measures to strengthen anti-American propaganda for nearest future. Agitprop document of Central Committee.
Article-1 1. In print news media such as "Pravda", "Izvestiya", "Trud", "Literaturnaya Gazeta", "Komsomolskaya Gazeta", "Bolshevik" and others, organize systematic publications of materials, articles and pamphlets, unmasking aggressive plans of American imperialism, inhumane character of social and political order of the U.S., debunking American propaganda "fables" about American "prosperity", showcasing deep controversies in US economy, mendaciousness of bourgeois democracy, the idiocy of modern American bourgeois culture and morals.
Article-15 15. The following themes should provide the basis for anti-American propaganda in press, radio and movies: ... Capitalistic monopolies of US inspirators of aggression policy ... US stronghold of colonial enslavement and colonial wars ... Monopolies feed fascism on American soil ... Democracy in US hypocritical coverup for absolute rule of capital ... Myth of high standards of living for all social classes in US... Myth of universal equality and equal opportunities for everyone in US... Degeneration of American culture... Decay of cinematography in US... Corrupt American press... Crime in US... ...
Decaying West "Decaying West" or "Rotting West" (rus: "Загнивающий запад") was the term used in the Soviet era to refer to the social order and moral norms in the United States and other Western countries, which were allegedly corrupt and rapidly eroding. The phrase also meant to emphasize the "imminent collapse of capitalism", although in the end it was the Soviet Union that collapsed.
Barack Obama In mid-2016, after tensions rose between the U.S. and Russia, a Tatarstan ice cream factory produced "Obamka" (little Obama) ice cream with packaging showing a black child wearing an earring; the move was seen as an illustration of both anti-Americanism in Russia and enduring, Soviet-era racism in the country. The company, which stated that the ice cream was not intended to be political, halted production of the line shortly after the controversy arose.Russian Company Halts 'Little Obama' Ice Cream Production, Moscow Times (11 May 2016).
Polls List of greatest enemies according to Russian public opinion polls. Public Opinion Foundation (2011) "Levada" Analytical Center (2012) "Levada" Analytical Center (2013)«Левада-Центр»: главным врагом россияне считают США, Levada-center: Russians consider U.S. as a main enemy. Rank Country/Region % 1 26% 2 13% 3 5% 4 3% 5 2% Rank Country/Region % 1 41% 2 35% 3 26% 4 25% 5 23% 6 15% 7 8% Rank Country/Region % 1 38% 2 33% 3 21% 4 17% 5 16%
A December 2017 survey conducted by the Chicago Council and its Russian partner, the Levada Center, showed that:
Survey results published by the Levada Center indicate that, as of August 2018, Russians increasingly viewed the United States positively following the Russia–U.S. summit in Helsinki in July 2018. However, only 14% of Russians expressed net approval of Donald Trump's policies in 2019. According to the Pew Research Center, "57% of Russians ages 18 to 29 see the U.S. favorably, compared with only 15% of Russians ages 50 and older."
US and Russian domestic politics After the color revolutions of the 2000s took place in former Soviet states with tacit support of the US, the political climate and processes in Russia have intensified as well. Those revolutions were perceived extremely negatively in Moscow.Стенограмма пресс-конференции В. В. Путина на сайте kremlin.ru Official Kremlin Website: Transcript of interview with president.
US and political opposition in Russia According to Russian media (especially major federal TV networks), the current Russian opposition has strong ties to the US and its allies. Furthermore, many government channels systematically broadcast documentaries, TV programs and journalistic researches, which claim that many opposition leaders are directly funded and supported by the US government, with an ultimate goal to destabilize the political and constitutional order in Russia.
Accusations have intensified during and after 2011 Russian legislative election, as well as 2012 Russian presidential election, which resulted in 2011–2013 Russian protests by the opposition.
In 2012, the major Russian national TV network NTV, created a series of documentaries called Anatomy of Protest (rus: Анатомия протеста) claiming that 2011–2013 Russian protests, organized by the opposition leaders, were carefully watched and influenced by some Western nations and the US in particular.
Some Russian officials interviewed in the film openly state that the US is actively working on bringing extremist groups to power in Russia, which would allow it to discredit Russia on the global stage and even to justify a military strike on the country.НТВ: Анатомия протеста, NTV: Anatomy of protest.НТВ: Анатомия протеста - 2, NTV: Anatomy of protest - 2.
On November 19, 2021, two members of the U.S. Congress said the United States should cease to recognize Vladimir Putin as president of Russia after 2024; the Kremlin denounced it as an attempt to meddle in its domestic affairs.
"Foreign Agents" and "Undesirable Organizations" In July 2012, the Russian foreign agent law was introduced. It requires nonprofit organizations that receive foreign donations and engage in "political activity" to be labeled as "foreign agents", which carries, in Russian, strong associations with Cold War-era espionage. Organizations are obliged to mark all their publications and begin each oral statement with a disclosure that it is being given by a foreign agent. They are subject to inspections and raids. Several US-based organizations have been targeted including Human Rights Watch.
In September 2012, Russian authorities demanded the end of operations of the United States Agency for International Development. According to officials, some activities conducted by the organization were hostile and undermined Russian sovereignty.CNN: Russia boots out USAID..
In May 2015, the Russian undesirable organizations law was introduced. Russian prosecutors are able to target foreign groups whose "undesirable activities" are deemed to threaten "state security" or the "basic values of the Russian state". Given a notice from the prosecutors, such organizations have to disband.
Violators face fines or prison terms of up to six years. People cooperating with such entities are subject to fines and can be banned from entering Russia. Duma deputy Aleksandr Tarnavsky, one of the legislation's coauthors, stated, "I do not think that there is a particular company that has to fall under this list. But if a company suddenly starts causing a lot of trouble, starts acting arrogantly and impudently, then in theory it could fall under the list of undesirable organizations." The law was used to target the National Endowment for Democracy and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Geopolitical views and theories The following views and theories are common in Russian mainstream national media. Some of them are voiced by top government officials and supported by major Russian think tanks and academia:
Centuries-long standoff between the West and Russia According to some popular Russian political writers and scientists, there is a centuries-long geopolitical standoff between Russia and the Western nations, especially with the Anglo-Saxon states such as the US and the UK, which have been openly and covertly working on destroying Russia by any means since the times of the Great Game. Distinguished political scientist Sergey Kurginyan (Russian: Сергей Кургинян) believes that the US is currently engaged in further expanding its "neo-colonial empire" and that Russia is the only hurdle on the way to achieving those goals.Кургинян: Строят мировую колониальную империю, Kurginyan: Building of world Colonial Empire Popular political writer Nikolai Starikov (Russian: Николай Стариков) believes that a number of major geopolitical events of the last centuries, including the dissolution of the Soviet Union, were direct results of covert plans devised and executed by US and/or the UK.Стариков: Большая игра продолжается, Starikov: The Great Game continuesСтариков: Америка строила планы захватить Россию 60 лет назад. Планирует и теперь..., Starikov: 60 years ago, Amerika made plans to occupy Russia. And still making them now... In many of his books, such as Who's funding disintegration of Russia - From Decembrists to Mujahideens (Russian: Кто финансирует развал России - от декабристов до моджахедов), Starikov attempts to prove that since the early 19th century, all the major political shocks in Russia had powerful foreign sponsors and planners, particularly the US and the UK.Стариков: "Кто финансирует развал России - от декабристов до моджахедов", Starikov: "Who's funding disintegration of Russia. From Decembrists to Mujahideens"