AMERICA DEFINES ITSELF BY MAKING RUSSIA ITS “OTHER” – INTERVIEW

From Russia Direct interview with Russian historian Victoria Zhuravleva:

RD:  As you write in your book, the U.S. tried to find its national identity and later to overcome its national identity crisis by opposing itself to the “Other” (Russia) and coming up with simplistic stereotypes. What is going on with the U.S. now in this respect? …

V.Z.: I don’t think that it is an identity crisis; it’s rather a long-term trend in Russian-American relations and the American perception of Russia. It fits with the U.S. concept of its messianic role in the world and to the ancient liberal-universalist myth about Russia. Among ideas of this myth are two: that Americans are responsible for the process of reforming Russia and that the Russian people are waiting for help from overseas (the romantic Russian “Other”). … (link below)

http://russia-direct.org/content/how-myths-about-russia-embrace-us-identity