Washington Times: Russians’ hatred for Americans is now turning lethal
MOSCOW — Anti-Americanism is on the rise in Russia, and the consequences are sometimes lethal.
Late last week, a 45-year-old Russian beat an acquaintance to death with his fists after a drinking session in Yaroslavl, a city some 160 miles from Moscow. The motive? The victim revealed he often traveled abroad, and his vodka-frazzled assailant told police that he thought he was neutralizing “an American spy.”
This may be an extreme case, but attitudes toward the United States have never been worse in post-Soviet Russia. An opinion poll published by the independent, Moscow-based Levada Center this year indicated that just over 80 percent of Russians have negative views of the United States, a figure that has almost doubled in slightly over a year. Similar figures also were recorded for attitudes toward European countries.
WNU Editor: I would not use the word hatred to define U.S. - Russian public opinion .... the problem is trust .... or more to the point .... no trust at all.
