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Donald Trump is comfortable with Vladimir Putin—too comfortable， it seems， for American tastes.
On the one hand， objections to his admiration for the Russian leader are understandable. Putin’s authoritarian tendencies are well-documented， and it’s incumbent on any leader to at least act appalled by his hunger for annexation and repression of dissent.2
But when Americans react with horror to Trump’s Putinfriendliness， there’s something else going on， too. Americans are really， really freaked out3 by Russia. The Cold War is over， but Russophobia is still branded on the American psyche.4
Even before the Cold War， Russia never really rubbed America the right way.5 The favored representation of Russia in 19th century political cartoons was the bear. Sometimes the bear was portrayed as a clumsy oaf who doesn’t know his own strength； other times， the bear was a menacing predator.6 These two tropes7 continued to characterize American representations of Russia throughout the 20th century， and still do today.
But when the Tsar was overthrown in 1917 and the Soviet Union was established a few years later， American fear of the Russians began to manifest in human form： namely， the Bolshevik agitator.8 Paranoia about Russian communists gripped the nation in what came to be known as the First Red Scare.9 In 1919 alone， anti-communist films included Bullin’ the Bullsheviki， Bolshevism on Trial and The Red Viper. That same year， U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered the arrest of more than 4，000 alleged10 communists， many of them Russian immigrants.
In the following years， a spate of films depicted in detail the horrors of Russian communism.11 Russians in the American imagination were either poor victims of Bolshevism abroad， or they were diabolical extremists intent on consolidating power and obliterating freedom and prosperity in America.12 The term “Russian reds”was as popular as “Islamic extremists” is now， and inspired a similar sense of revulsion13 and dread for many Americans.
As intense as the First Red Scare was， it was brief and small-scale compared to the Second Red Scare14， at the height of the Cold War. After World War II， the USSR had emerged as a formidable world power and adversary of the United States， strong enough to develop atomic weaponry，15 spy on Americans， and race to outer space.
Popular American culture throughout the mid-20th century portrayed Russians as sneaky16 and menacing. In the McCarthyist era—a time when even faint or alleged sympathies with communism could get you blacklisted for life， and convicted Russian spies were executed on American soil—Russia was synonymous with scheming， secrecy， espionage and intrigue.17 Cold War spy films produced a new round of Russian stock characters and stereotypes： the devious and clever double-agent， the unsmiling KGB officer， the sadistic mob boss， the lethal seductress， and so on.18
On the one hand， objections to his admiration for the Russian leader are understandable. Putin’s authoritarian tendencies are well-documented， and it’s incumbent on any leader to at least act appalled by his hunger for annexation and repression of dissent.2
But when Americans react with horror to Trump’s Putinfriendliness， there’s something else going on， too. Americans are really， really freaked out3 by Russia. The Cold War is over， but Russophobia is still branded on the American psyche.4
Even before the Cold War， Russia never really rubbed America the right way.5 The favored representation of Russia in 19th century political cartoons was the bear. Sometimes the bear was portrayed as a clumsy oaf who doesn’t know his own strength； other times， the bear was a menacing predator.6 These two tropes7 continued to characterize American representations of Russia throughout the 20th century， and still do today.
But when the Tsar was overthrown in 1917 and the Soviet Union was established a few years later， American fear of the Russians began to manifest in human form： namely， the Bolshevik agitator.8 Paranoia about Russian communists gripped the nation in what came to be known as the First Red Scare.9 In 1919 alone， anti-communist films included Bullin’ the Bullsheviki， Bolshevism on Trial and The Red Viper. That same year， U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered the arrest of more than 4，000 alleged10 communists， many of them Russian immigrants.
In the following years， a spate of films depicted in detail the horrors of Russian communism.11 Russians in the American imagination were either poor victims of Bolshevism abroad， or they were diabolical extremists intent on consolidating power and obliterating freedom and prosperity in America.12 The term “Russian reds”was as popular as “Islamic extremists” is now， and inspired a similar sense of revulsion13 and dread for many Americans.
As intense as the First Red Scare was， it was brief and small-scale compared to the Second Red Scare14， at the height of the Cold War. After World War II， the USSR had emerged as a formidable world power and adversary of the United States， strong enough to develop atomic weaponry，15 spy on Americans， and race to outer space.
Popular American culture throughout the mid-20th century portrayed Russians as sneaky16 and menacing. In the McCarthyist era—a time when even faint or alleged sympathies with communism could get you blacklisted for life， and convicted Russian spies were executed on American soil—Russia was synonymous with scheming， secrecy， espionage and intrigue.17 Cold War spy films produced a new round of Russian stock characters and stereotypes： the devious and clever double-agent， the unsmiling KGB officer， the sadistic mob boss， the lethal seductress， and so on.18