A Real Picture of U.S.-Russian Relations
// The price of the question
Sociologists, psychologists and, of course, psychiatrists make reference to the concept of “the second reality.” That is not reality, but rather a person's perception of reality. When I first went to American 30 years ago, I was certain that I would find there all the signs of Western decadence and decline that the Soviet press had told about – unemployment, the suffering of the working people and so on. That second reality had not relation to what I saw with my won eyes, but that invented reality seemed real any way. The Soviet people knew that Aeroflot flew well, that we had the best cement and other building materials in the world, and that American was our enemy.
We were American's enemy too like that. Ronald Reagan considered the “evil empire” that surrounded us quicksand for humanity, killing its own and everybody else. They were terribly afraid of us in America then; they expected the worst from us and dug bomb shelters set up forests of missiles. America, president Reagan included, was also hostage to that second reality. Reagan believed is Star Wars and was proud of his creation, believing, thanks to it, the unbendable will of the Soviet Union would be pushed to the point of no return. Reality once again something completely different. His trillions of cosmic dollars were a dud.
During late Perestroika, I went to work in America for a long time. There it as the years of late Reaganism. It was different for the time when Reagan coined the phrase “evil empire,” a completely different America. Instead of the enmity and fear toward Soviet Russia, there was goodwill and curiosity. American trusted Gorbachev and for us, journalists from Moscow, it was a golden age. We were bathed in the glory of the Soviet president and all doors were open to us.
A lot has changed since then. Today, Russia is not the evil empire for America, but neither is it the country that attracted the sincere interest that I witnessed. America has stopped setting Russia apart and they now look at us with cold pragmatism. We did not become an ally of the U.S., much less a friend. We became indispensable partners. And not enemies. Enemies are either destroyed or defended against.
I mentioned enemies because there is one thing I cannot understand. When we hear that the real goal of America, and the West as a whole, is to keep Russia on its knees and destroy it, what does it mean? Is it a cynical lie for some political purpose – mobilization of society through the tried and try means of showing it an enemy? Or the sincere words of people who live in a second reality, where we have already been once upon a time?
Mikhail Taratuta, host of the television program America with Mikhail Taratuta, 1988-1999
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 24, 2008
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