Young Russians See America as an Enemy

According to a recent Newsweek article (Click Here), young Russians in their teens and early twenties overwhelmingly view the West (and the US in particular) with distrust and disdain.

The article's authors attribute these attitudes to a concerted attempt by the Kremlin to influence Russia's youths by means of propaganda and highly-politicized, state-created youth groups reminiscent of the Komsomol, i.e. the youth branch of the Soviet-era Communist Party.

The Newsweek page has an embedded video, and it offers some pretty disturbing quotes:

Philip, 18: Americans are enemies. I think that we should be very cautious. They hatch plots against us all the time, and all their military bases in the Czech Republic and Hungary have to be closely monitored.

Sophia, 18: I can't say I have a negative opinion of Stalin's methods.

Danil, 20: But in America, if you say something wrong---not only about fat people, but also about (homophobic slur), I mean "gays"---you can be convicted. I think this is wrong. You need to tell people how to behave properly.

Aliya, 17: I consider Stalin a great leader, a good politician, an excellent man.

Aleksei, 19: America is the enemy of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq. Americans can't sit calmly by. They always want to do something to make profits.

Alisa, 19: Though it may seem strange, I am not against a totalitarian regime.

What do think, OT? Personally, I think this bodes rather ill for the future. :o

What about old Russians?

Not suprised since putins government is just all the old communists.mattykovax

Yet the country is more capitalist than anything, to be honest TC it's no different than those americans who view russians as commies. Those children are silly though.. I wonder what part of russia that is.. someone actually praised stalin? Of all people?

someone actually praised stalin? Of all people?

Espada12

I have rather strong doubts that the person was told anything actually truthful about him.

Ahahaha Stalin a great man? What a bunch of uneducated pricks.

[QUOTE="mattykovax"]Not suprised since putins government is just all the old communists.Espada12

Yet the country is more capitalist than anything, to be honest TC it's no different than those americans who view russians as commies. Those children are silly though.. I wonder what part of russia that is.. someone actually praised stalin? Of all people?

Ahahaha Stalin a great man? What a bunch of uneducated pricks.

carrot-cake

Before we cast the first stone, let me remind people that we still celebrate Columbus Day and that most have a mental image of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down together at Thanksgiving and having a happy little meal together.

Just sayin'...

[QUOTE="carrot-cake"]

Ahahaha Stalin a great man? What a bunch of uneducated pricks.

Before we cast the first stone, let me remind people that we still celebrate Columbus Day and that most have a mental image of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down together at Thanksgiving and having a happy little meal together.

Just sayin'...

This is new??

But seriously, Russia and the US need to make a strong relationship. I am not confident that America could defeat the Russian military. I also see a war between the two countries being nothing but disaster, a world war 3.

[QUOTE="carrot-cake"]

Ahahaha Stalin a great man? What a bunch of uneducated pricks.

Before we cast the first stone, let me remind people that we still celebrate Columbus Day and that most have a mental image of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down together at Thanksgiving and having a happy little meal together.

Just sayin'...

[QUOTE="carrot-cake"]

Ahahaha Stalin a great man? What a bunch of uneducated pricks.

GabuEx

Before we cast the first stone, let me remind people that we still celebrate Columbus Day and that most have a mental image of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down together at Thanksgiving and having a happy little meal together.

Just sayin'...

Agreed.

And, mindful of hypocrisy, we should also admit that there are plenty of Americans who would chuckle in agreement at the cruel sentiments "Danil" expressed about gays and fat people!

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

Before we cast the first stone, let me remind people that we still celebrate Columbus Day and that most have a mental image of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down together at Thanksgiving and having a happy little meal together.

Just sayin'...

Stesilaus

Agreed.

And, mindful of hypocrisy, we should also admit that there are plenty of Americans who would chuckle in agreement at the cruel sentiments

I HATE it when people use the terms America and Americans interchangably. As if our countries actions represent a type of personality that all Americans share.alphamale1989

There is so much fail and ignorance in those quotes.:(

I hope these are the exaggerated minority, or they are more ignorant than the worst of the GOP.

well then BRING EM OOOOONNN:x

Many, if not most, Russians of that age have been victimized by the intense political, social, and economic crisis that had gripped Russia from the late 80s/ early 90s until a few years after Putin came into power. Regardless of how foolish or repressive many would view the Soviet regime, they really fell far from their pedestal. Many Russians blame the West for the Soviet Union's collapse, and they also blame the West for the crisis that came with it (read about the "shock therapy" some influential economists encouraged Russia to follow and its disastrous consequences). The biggest insult was when they perceived themselves as becoming a stooge of the U.S. Remember, this was after 70 years of being ideological enemies.

This is the same kind of sentiment that helped shape the rise of Nazi Germany. People in Germany felt humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles and all the things they were forced to give up or pay back (their land, military, war reparations, etc) after WWI. That is not including the immense crisis that came within the new Weimar Republic for almost its entire existence. So it is no surprise that they looked towards someone who would in a sense make their country great again. That is what many Germans saw in Hitler That is what many Russians see in Putin. That doesn't mean there will be another war or genocide, but I believe the comparisons are quite interesting.

...Russians have never been too friendly towards Americans.

ALSO

One has to remember that the movement of Liberalism in Russia during the 80's and 90's was seen as what cased the fall of the Soviet Union and the economic fallout of those events. Many Russians today grew up under the belief that those people who pushed for more rights in the 80's were weak and ultimately tricked by Europeans and Americans.

Many, if not most, Russians of that age have been victimized by the intense political, social, and economic crisis that had gripped Russia from the late 80s/ early 90s until a few years after Putin came into power. Regardless of how foolish or repressive many would view the Soviet regime, they really fell far from their pedestal. Many Russians blame the West for the Soviet Union's collapse, and they also blame the West for the crisis that came with it (read about the "shock therapy" some influential economists encouraged Russia to follow and its disastrous consequences). The biggest insult was when they perceived themselves as becoming a stooge of the U.S. Remember, this was after 70 years of being ideological enemies.

This is the same kind of sentiment that helped shape the rise of Nazi Germany. People in Germany felt humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles and all the things they were forced to give up or pay back (their land, military, war reparations, etc) after WWI. That is not including the immense crisis that came within the new Weimar Republic for almost its entire existence. So it is no surprise that they looked towards someone who would in a sense make their country great again. That is what many Germans saw in Hitler That is what many Russians see in Putin. That doesn't mean there will be another war or genocide, but I believe the comparisons are quite interesting.

jetpower3

Thank you for that very insightful response, jetpower3, and in particular for the very compelling comparison between Yeltsin's Russia and the Weimar Republic.

...Russians have never been too friendly towards Americans.

ALSO

One has to remember that the movement of Liberalism in Russia during the 80's and 90's was seen as what cased the fall of the Soviet Union and the economic fallout of those events. Many Russians today grew up under the belief that those people who pushed for more rights in the 80's were weak and ultimately tricked by Europeans and Americans.

UnknownSniper65

There's also the case of pent up nationalism. Any country that has fallen apart or greatly weakened, regardless of whether it was their fault or not, or how great or terrible the old regime was, will want to blame someone else for it. Many people value stability and a sense of belonging to what they think is the best very much, even if it means giving up their rights or civil liberties. And hey, sometimes that's not a problem because they've never known what rights or civil liberties really are, or their culture has never cared about them or stressed them. See my previous post.

...Russians have never been too friendly towards Americans.

ALSO

One has to remember that the movement of Liberalism in Russia during the 80's and 90's was seen as what cased the fall of the Soviet Union and the economic fallout of those events. Many Russians today grew up under the belief that those people who pushed for more rights in the 80's were weak and ultimately tricked by Europeans and Americans.

UnknownSniper65

And, to be fair, many of the pro-Western Russian liberals essentially dug their own graves ...

From the Newsweek article:

The political journey of Andrei Tatarinov, 21 years old, is a perfect microcosm of many of his generation. In the early 2000s, while still at school, he was an opposition activist and went to street protests that were violently dispersed by police. He quit in 2006 because, he says, human-rights campaigner Lev Ponomarev "hurt my patriotic feelings" with his talk of returning the Kuril Islands to Japan and allowing foreign oil companies access to Russian energy reserves.

What would Americans say to somebody who suggested that Hawaii be returned to its natives and that Russian oil companies be allowed to drill in Texas? :?

You are too gullible. They're 6 Russians. Not the 60 million that there are. I'm an sure you would find some Americans who think as Russia as their enemy too. the_kidisblack

There are 141 million Russians.

Thats because Russia's not in great shape right now. They look at the past and see Stalin and his propaganda, how it seems like he was a great leader..They hear about the "Great Patriotic War" and think back to a time where they thought Russia was a great, proud country (but in reality, they were suppressed by Stalin). The Propaganda of the past is still affecting young Russians right now..

Thats because Russia's not in great shape right now. They look at the past and see Stalin and his propaganda, how it seems like he was a great leader..They hear about the "Great Patriotic War" and think back to a time where they thought Russia was a great, proud country (but in reality, they were suppressed by Stalin). The Propaganda of the past is still affecting young Russians right now..

taj7575

I think it's appropriate to say that the facts of the times come and go in people's minds, but the best rhetoric and propaganda will never be forgotten.

[QUOTE="taj7575"]

Thats because Russia's not in great shape right now. They look at the past and see Stalin and his propaganda, how it seems like he was a great leader..They hear about the "Great Patriotic War" and think back to a time where they thought Russia was a great, proud country (but in reality, they were suppressed by Stalin). The Propaganda of the past is still affecting young Russians right now..

jetpower3

I think it's appropriate to say that the facts of the times come and go in people's minds, but the best rhetoric and propaganda will never be forgotten.

Very true. Even when I studied Soviet propaganda and the Soviet Union, I kinda had to shake it off of my head. The marchest, the speeches, and all the propaganda actually looked pretty cool. But then you get into how bad the cities were, how supressed the citizens were, etc.. and then you really just have to ignore that.

About time, Arabs are just so boring...

About time, Arabs are just so boring...

Soapweed

You shouldn't be too swift to welcome hostile relations with Russia.

Russia's standing vis-a-vis the West is probably much more similar to Germany's shortly before WWII than to the Soviet Union's at the beginning of the Cold War.

It may be that "Cold War II" is much less likely than "World War III"!

So? Countless Americans see Russia as an enemy.

yet it was ridiculously easy to convince america to get invovled in 2 pointless wars with people who posed no threat.

and you call russians brainwashed by proganda

oh the irony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q566ys0sqVQ

my favourite video showing how ignorant americans are of anything outside their country. There's a war going on and people don't even know who they're fighting.

Unfortunately, the US government and its people have mainly shown the world aggression. Even supposedly more diplomatic presidents like Obama is really nothing but the same o same o, a fist covered with velvet

yet it was ridiculously easy to convince america to get invovled in 2 pointless wars with people who posed no threat.

and you call russians brainwashed by proganda

oh the irony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q566ys0sqVQ

my favourite video showing how ignorant americans are of anything outside their country. There's a war going on and people don't even know who they're fighting.

Deano

1. The American public had nothing to do with starting the two current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, if that is what you are referring to. It was the U.S. government, and believe me, millions of Americans were thoroughly opposed to them. I agree that Iraq posed no threat, but Afghanistan is a different story.

2. I think you would find that those kinds of videos can be done almost anywhere in the world with similar results. People just like to focus on America it seems. And besides, those shows can be edited to show what they want to show, and not the whole picture.

[QUOTE="carrot-cake"]

Ahahaha Stalin a great man? What a bunch of uneducated pricks.

GabuEx

Before we cast the first stone, let me remind people that we still celebrate Columbus Day and that most have a mental image of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down together at Thanksgiving and having a happy little meal together.

Just sayin'...

Unfortunately, the US government and its people have mainly shown the world aggression. Even supposedly more diplomatic presidents like Obama is really nothing but the same o same o, a fist covered with velvet

majwill24

I think pulling out of Iraq is a pretty good choice against aggression. U.S. troop levels there are already at an all-time low. If you're talking about Afghanistan, really, the U.S. is not really trying to fan the flames of the war. It's the insurgents who are provoking the majority of the fighting and killing of civilians anyway. Do you think the U.S. has anything really to gain by being there any longer than it has to be in trying to get the situation under control? Do you think they make war just for fun? No. They're trying to put an end to a 30 year civil war and hopefully stem the spread of extremism with it. Unfortunately, the political, social, and economic circumstances for all of that time have not been very favourable.

For every Russian that feels that was there are an equal number of americans that feel the same way

Hey wait... I though that the Americans consider Russia as an enemy too, don't they? :|

Not good if Russia's Future Politicians/Soldiers etc. think like that, I just hope all Russia's youth doesnt pay any attention to Anti-West propaganda or its going to lead down a dark road for the world as a whole, not just Russia and USA

The rest of the world does the same.

Since they probably grew up during the turmoil after the fall of the soviet union, they might see us as the cause of that. Maybe its a conspiracy to brainwash kids too :|

The rest of the world does the same.

RichardStallman

The rest of the world does the same.

RichardStallman