| dc.description.abstract | In this work, I attempt to explore how average Soviet people reacted to the images and depictions of America presented to them through official and unofficial channels from both sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. I argue that average Soviet citizens' view of America was primarily informed by, and closely followed that of official propaganda. Deprived of any coherent information about America, Soviet citizens fell back on pre-World War II and even pre-Revolutionary views of America as an incredibly rich yet socially unjust country dominated by an insatiable pursuit of money. While these views did not remain static they adjusted to social and political events--the changes remained on the outer layers and did not touch the foundations of ordinary Soviet people's image of America. To put it another way, Soviet citizens had two levels of beliefs about America. The first, or the core level, was more static, based mostly on official propaganda. The second, or the outer level, was more flexible and allowed for incorporation of unofficial information about America, including the use of American consumer and cultural products. Moreover, I will show that core Soviet attitudes about America remained roughly the same at least into the mid-eighties, highlighting a high degree of success in the Soviet state's manipulation of information on this issue. I contend that unofficial information about America available to the Soviet people in form of radio broadcasts, magazines, movies, and encounters with foreign visitors did little to alter their core perceptions of America. Furthermore, when Soviets came in contact with information about real America through interaction with Western travelers, they frequently chose to ignore it if it challenged their core image of the United States. Instead, many average Soviets used new information in a way that reinforced their already formed beliefs, positive or negative, about America. While outside information and products from the United States served as a proverbial "window to the West," they also served as a mirror through which the Soviets, denied free access to information, sought to reflect on their own country and its standing in the wider world. | |
