DescentBB

I'll try to briefly describe the attitude of Russians to the United States as if I did not have the Internet.
Every child or an old woman, a banker or a beggar in the city or in the countryside, everything are sure that the USA are hostile to Russia. Despite it, here, to Americans there is no hatred or hostility. It is rather possible to call the relation of the majority of Russians to the USA as a whole benevolent. It is paradox.
But the public opinion of Russians to the USA very strongly depends on events in world political arena. Russians possess the keen sense of justice. Because at the majority of the Russian people justice is much more important than money.

do you think that view of the US, as a foe, is still a holdover of 40 years or so of intense Communist-era propaganda, Sigma? Because the general attitude toward Americans, as people, seems pretty much consistent with how people view their fellow man, as a whole. I mean, there are amongst any populace, haters, who view their fellow man with hostility, but my view is that most of us view all people the world over as essentially good.

callmeslick wrote:do you think that view of the US, as a foe, is still a holdover of 40 years or so of intense Communist-era propaganda, Sigma?

No. You misunderstood, probably. The USA it not the enemy for Russians. And never was the enemy. Even in the USSR. The USSR was compelled to create a monstrous military arsenal after the inadequate decision of the USA to use the nuclear weapon against Japan. That the USA didn't apply it against us. We aren't afraid of the USA. We are afraid of the stupid decisions of American politicians. Every day we are compelled have to be prepared to blunt the decisions of American politicians.

callmeslick wrote:... but my view is that most of us view all people the world over as essentially good.

I would qualify that, for myself, by saying that I view people the world over who have family-oriented goals as essentially good.

sigma wrote:

callmeslick wrote:do you think that view of the US, as a foe, is still a holdover of 40 years or so of intense Communist-era propaganda, Sigma?

No. You misunderstood, probably. The USA it not the enemy for Russians. And never was the enemy. Even in the USSR. The USSR was compelled to create a monstrous military arsenal after the inadequate decision of the USA to use the nuclear weapon against Japan. That the USA didn't apply it against us. We aren't afraid of the USA. We are afraid of the stupid decisions of American politicians. Every day we are compelled have to be prepared to blunt the decisions of American politicians.

Slick I think he answered your question,and by that answer, the answer would be yes. this is still a holdover from the cold war

sigma wrote:The USA it not the enemy for Russians. And never was the enemy. Even in the USSR... Every day we are compelled have to be prepared to blunt the decisions of American politicians.

This has been very educational for me, thank you for your insight Sigma.

CUDA wrote:

sigma wrote:

callmeslick wrote:do you think that view of the US, as a foe, is still a holdover of 40 years or so of intense Communist-era propaganda, Sigma?

No. You misunderstood, probably. The USA it not the enemy for Russians. And never was the enemy. Even in the USSR. The USSR was compelled to create a monstrous military arsenal after the inadequate decision of the USA to use the nuclear weapon against Japan. That the USA didn't apply it against us. We aren't afraid of the USA. We are afraid of the stupid decisions of American politicians. Every day we are compelled have to be prepared to blunt the decisions of American politicians.

Slick I think he answered your question,and by that answer, the answer would be yes. this is still a holdover from the cold war

yup, and a people kept in paranoid fear of another nation stay in line, eh?

callmeslick wrote:yup, and a people kept in paranoid fear of another nation stay in line, eh?

What Sigma described doesn't sound like paranoid fear to me, but rather responsible concern. He already said the US isn't viewed as an enemy and Russians generally feel warm toward Americans, but are bothered by the actions of it's leaders. Can you blame him? The USA is engaged in perpetual war. I would say Americans are more guilty of paranoid fear of Russia than the other way around. We even see the remnants of The Red Scare here on this forum.

um, Vision, did you read these words from Sigma?
"Every child or an old woman, a banker or a beggar in the city or in the countryside, everything are sure that the USA are hostile to Russia."

There is utterly nothing, in the past 25 years or more, that would warranty such surety. Nothing. He himself infers that the whole mindset goes back to US use of nukes in Japan, which actually prevented far more loss of life had a protracted conventional war persisted on mainland Japan. On the whole, the whole perspective he offers is of some bizarre necessity that drives the Russian nation to be some sort of guardian against American recklessness, not that they have the capacity to do so, militarily, in all likelihood. I feel that perspective is rooted in cold-war era excesses on both sides, largely excesses of propaganda.

sigma wrote:

callmeslick wrote:do you think that view of the US, as a foe, is still a holdover of 40 years or so of intense Communist-era propaganda, Sigma?

No. You misunderstood, probably. The USA it not the enemy for Russians. And never was the enemy. Even in the USSR. The USSR was compelled to create a monstrous military arsenal after the inadequate decision of the USA to use the nuclear weapon against Japan. That the USA didn't apply it against us. We aren't afraid of the USA. We are afraid of the stupid decisions of American politicians. Every day we are compelled have to be prepared to blunt the decisions of American politicians.

Weird timing here. I just watched a PBS show about the origins of the Hanford Reservation, the place where we made all that plutonium that went into the first atomic bombs. You'll have to understand sigma, that our paranoia towards the Soviets was a holdover from the huge fears we had that the Nazis were going to win and take over the world. We were actually losing the war early in the conflict and our military and political minds decided that we had to develop "the bomb" before the Germans did in order to stop them at all costs. When the Soviets got the bomb, that wartime paranoia started right back up with a vengeance.

And if you think the Russians were afraid of the U.S., we ourselves, as citizens, had to put up with the commie boogeyman fear-mongering our politicians kept hammering into our skulls day in and day out for a decade or more. The power of fear, was used to justify the destruction a lot of people's lives and feed a burgeoning, profitable military machine. We as American people, feared our own government. Senator McCarthy was a witch hunter and destroyer of reputations and lives, and had the FBI and Director Hoover as his enforcer.

callmeslick wrote:On the whole, the whole perspective he offers is of some bizarre necessity that drives the Russian nation to be some sort of guardian against American recklessness...

But this is exactly what Russia is doing with Syria. If it were not for Russia we would be bombing the holy hell out of that place right now. Imagine if Russia was regularly "spreading democracy" to our neighbors? How comfortable would we be with Russia occupying Latin American countries like Panama and Honduras? You must admit Russia is not the only country that views the US as a threat to global stability, and we deserve the reputation. Hell, our policy of "regime change" is the but of jokes by popular comedians. Everyone knows we have our hands in everything.

Check your history, starting around 1917, and you will see Russia did a damn good job spreading its idealisms (mostly communism) around the world.

And tho Russia’s economy has changed to a sort of free market…it’s still the commies running things over there.

Of course people will say…that was the USSR…please see above. The Soviet Union is dead…but its heart (Russia) lives on.