Salon

One of the first Russian impressions of the United States was Alexander Pushkin's article "John Tanner," a review of the 1830 book "A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner during Thirty Years Residence Among the Indians." Though it was only a secondhand impression, it took on lasting importance because of Pushkin's significance for Russian culture. Pushkin expressed a harsh, skeptical attitude toward the U.S. political system, stating: "[We] have seen democracy in its disgusting cynicism, in its cruel prejudices and its unbearable tyranny; [we have seen] everything noble, selfless and elevating for the soul subdued by relentless egotism and a passion for comfort." No doubt, these impressions were also secondhand, mostly from Alexis de Tocqueville's famous book "Democracy in America." But this did not stop Soviet historians or, more recently, the "patriotic" demagogues of post-Soviet Russia from enlisting the great national poet as another opponent of U.S. imperialism.

America was a land of mystery in most 19th-century European fiction, including Russia's. It is for this reason that Svidrigailov, the sinister antihero of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment," considers going across the Atlantic, and says he is "off to America" seconds before shooting himself in the head.

Some early Soviet authors actually went to America and wrote about what they saw. The main idea seemed to be "they're just like us; wait until they overthrow their capitalists!" Also, a persistent note in Russian reactions to America has always been "they lynch their black people!" For instance, in the 1936 film "The Circus," a blonde U.S. acrobat on tour in the Soviet Union hides her black son from the public, fearing that locals will snub her just like people back home. When her secret is revealed, everyone goes syrupy over the cute little boy, singing him a lullaby in several languages. Much of this internationalism was real, in contrast with today's xenophobia -- but notably, the Yiddish part of the lullaby was censored from the film during the state-sponsored anti-Semitic campaign of 1948.

Recently, Vavilon, the influential online community of authors, launched the project "In My Life," asking members for essays on a given topic. The first topic was America. Reactions ranged from Dmitry Prigov's serious political thoughts to Ksenia Rozhdestvenskaya's childhood fears of nuclear war to Linor Goralik's ardent desires: "I want my second husband to be from a real Richmond family. I want my son to lose a finger firing a Fourth of July petard." The range was wide, but it was the voice of a new generation -- one that has met America face to face, and found the experience exciting.