Title: What did Russian citizens during the Cold War think about America? Why? - Quora
Headings: 
What did Russian citizens during the Cold War think about America? Why?
Dima Vorobiev

Content: There is another trend among Russian people — they have too high requirements to the USA, thinking that everything in the US should resemble paradise. After such expectations are defeated and Russians see some drawbacks in the American society, Russians move to extreme forms of criticism towards the US. There are some United States-funded mass media operating in Russia — two radio stations, Radio Liberty and Voice of America, but they have proven to be unable to fill the gap and educate Russian people on the United States and its policies. In addition, the majority of the listeners of these two radio stations are well-educated people in the major Russian cities, while the bulk of Russian society prefers television as the main source of information. Similarly, the majority of Russian participants of the United States’ educational exchange programs reside in Moscow, and the Russian public can participate in the United States-sponsored cultural events only in several major cities that have United States embassies and consulates. Under the conditions of the lack of mass media interpreting United States policy to the Russian people, high-ranked American officials such as Condoleezza Rice have to spend much their time during visits to Russia attempting to persuade the Russian public that “the relations between the U.S.A. and Russia are warm” and “the U.S.A. is not an adversary for Russia.” American officials on their trips to Russia have to substitute the mass media function, instead of spending their time and energy in a more productive way — working on the projects of mutual interest and thus ensuring the cooperation between the two countries.