The Changeable Soviet Image of America

Abstract

Perceptions of America in Soviet society are very changeable under the influence of domestic political developments, even if cultural traditions exert significant influence on them. In the 1970s, the image of the United States in the Soviet Union was strongly influenced by Russophile ideology, which held the upper hand over liberal ideology and which coalesced with the official ideology in its attitudes toward the United States. Unlike the previous period, in the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s, the focus was not so much on the capitalistic nature of American society but on the American style of life. The average American was portrayed as completely absorbed with material interests and as insensitive to cultural values and the plight of others. Denouncing Americans for consumerism and vanity, the Soviets during this period themselves demonstrated a growing interest in material comfort and prestige. The image of Americans became a part of the mythological level of the Soviet mentality, which, with the claim to cultural superiority over Americans, was intended to rationalize the growing economic and technological gap between the two countries.