Homo Americanus vs Homo Soveticus: Contemporary Russians’ and Americans’ Social Views on the Cold War Ideological Clichés

Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4: История. Регионоведение. Международные отношения. 2026. Vol. 31. No. 2. P. 165–177.

Tatiana B. Riabova, Liudmila L. Kleshchenko

Introduction. For the first time, the article examines the contemporary Russians’ and Americans’ social views on how the Soviet and US Cold War mass culture represented “us” and “them”. Materials and methods. The article is based on an analysis of data from an in-depth interview conducted in the USA and Russia (n = 27, autumn 2023 – spring 2024). To verify the results obtained, projective techniques were employed. Results. The interviewees from both countries demonstrated familiarity with the content of the Cold War ideological clichés; an understanding of the techniques by which these clichés are created; and awareness of the manipulative nature of their use. They identified the features through which mass culture juxtaposed Soviet and American ways of life, as well as the character traits and appearances attributed to Homo Americanus and Homo Soveticus. In general, Russian informants were slightly more knowledgeable about representations of the USSR in US mass culture than American counterparts were about representations of the USA in Soviet culture. The authors conclude that views on the ways of representing “us” and “them” in the Soviet and US Cold War mass culture are stereotypical, being simplified, shared, emotionally coloured and stable, and can be designated as “imagological stereotypes”. These stereotypes serve as a factor that influences Russians and Americans’ mutual perceptions and indirectly affects contemporary international relations. Funding. The study was funded by RSF, Grant № 22-18-00305-P, “The images of the enemy in Cold War popular culture: their content, contemporary reception and usage in Russian and U.S. symbolic politics.”

Keywords: российско-американские отношения, Russian-American relations, Cold War, имагология, imagology, national stereotypes, национальные стереотипы, Soviet cinema, Холодная война, US cinema, кинематограф СССР, кинематограф США