Propaganda blamed for anti-Western feeling

This week, Russian sociologist Denis Volkov of the respected Levada centre published an analysis in Vedomosti where he discussed how Russian public opinion sees the US and the EU.

America appeared as model country
The article, made available in English by Meduza, claims that “in the late 1980s and early 1990s Russian society was fascinated by the West—particularly the United States. America appeared to Russians to be the model country.”

However, according to Volkov, “hopes for new Russia’s quick and painless integration into the global community soon proved to be groundless, and they were replaced by a shared annoyance aimed at the West.”

Anti-Americanism used strategically
Volkov claims that state media have played a key role in the negative trend.

He says: “If the growth of anti-Americanism in the 1990s was relatively spontaneous, Russia’s authorities in the 2000s started using it purposefully to interpret world events and justify Moscow’s foreign policy ambitions [..]. This effort was facilitated by concentrating Russia’s television networks and the country’s biggest media outlets under the control of the state, which began with Vladimir Putin’s presidency.”

The author concludes that the negative views about the West will remain “until the country’s elites and its mass media become more pluralistic and free.”