Author: r.simon

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: Encounters Magazine held its Spring 2017 Release Party on Tuesday, May 16 in the multi-purpose room. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: The event featured an array of Italian food, which was quickly eaten by attendees. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: Encounters Editor-In-Chief Damian Miia Benskin took to the stage and opened the event with some remarks, then introduced the musical performers. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: Benskin addressed a crowd of roughly 50 people, many of whom submitted entries into the Harman Poetry Competition. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: The first musical performance featured two guitarists and a female lead singer who sung folk songs in a soft voice. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: The lead vocalist was then replaced by an improv singer, who switched up the sound of the performance and made up the lyrics as she went along, based on crowd suggestions. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: Benskin took the microphone again to introduce Gregory Guma, who read a series of haikus about love, which Encounters published in their most recent issue. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: Guma read his haikus methodically, adding a bongo solo between each one. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: After several more readings, Benskin announced the cutting of the famous red velvet cake, an Encounters tradition for all of its release parties. (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

BARUCH COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY – MAY 16: Attendee Angel Torres, 22, commented on the party saying, “I really enjoyed all of the performances tonight, but my favorite was the improv music group. The singer had an amazing voice and it was fun to hear her vibe with the crowd.” (Photo by Rebecca Simon for Advanced Multimedia)

On Friday, March 31, United Nations Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq expressed disappointment in Israel’s decision to build a new settlement in Palestinian territory. This will be the first new settlement in the West Bank for 20 years.

This decision by Israel is considered illegal under international law. The settlement will be built in an area known as “Emek Shilo,” and was promised by the Israeli prime minister in February. This decision has drawn harsh criticism from not only the UN, but from Palestinian leaders as well.

Since the election of President Donald Trump, Israel has approved the construction of many new homes, although they have been additions to existing settlements. This will be the first new settlement in Palestinian territory by Israel since the election.

If I was reporting on this story, I would include the comment from the secretary-general expressing disappointment because it is important for this story to include the UN’s reaction to the situation. However, considering how stealthily Haq was dodging any questions relating to the announcement, there aren’t many direct quotes that could be included in a story.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2017/03/31/un-chief-alarmed-by-israels-approval-of-new-settlement/
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/israel-blasted-approving-bank-settlement-170330205451007.html

As Russia-United States relations dominate headlines with Russian President Vladimir Putin engaging in risky endeavors abroad, such as airstrikes in Syria, interventions in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, many Russian-Americans are left with a less-than-favorable image of their country to fellow U.S. citizens.

 

This is not a new phenomenon. James Bond movies, circa the 1960s, have painted a negative image of Russians in the minds of many Americans, and often Russian immigrants find that image difficult to escape when attempting to assimilate to U.S. culture.

 

Irina Groushevaia, 22, emigrated from Russia after her high school graduation and has found that Americans generally hold negative stereotypes about Russia and its people.

 

“When I came here, I kind of felt that everyone either thinks I’m this crazy femme fatale or thinks I’m going to show up with fake blonde hair and be a super thin model, which I’m not and they are stereotypes that everyone tries to fit me in and I don’t fit into them because the perceptions by Americans of Russians is very different from reality,” she said.

 

“Of course stereotypes exist for a reason, but the way we are perceived in American movies, in American culture is just ridiculous,” Groushevaia added, “We’re all over the top with how we look, always in fur and stilettos and every woman is like the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. And we’re always evil and really cold and backstabbing and I think that exists in every culture, not just in Russian culture, but when you ask an American what a Russian is, it’s always a James Bond villain.”

 

 

While Russia-American relations have continued to be tense since the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, Americans’ perceptions of Russia as “the enemy” seems especially relevant in a tense political climate where rumors exist that Putin helped rig the polling system to elect President Donald Trump, an unfavorable candidate to many Americans, according to the popular vote, which he lost by nearly 2 million.

 

Sergey Arinkin, 26, who lives in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn with his partner, another Russian immigrant, has noticed Americans’ attitudes toward Russian immigrants changing since the election of Trump. “Nowadays, there is some sort of a new stereotype that all the Russians are Trump supporters. When we were in LA, in one bar, super liberal folk decided not to continue any communication [with us] because we said that we were Russian,” he said.

 

Arinkin added, “I would say that generally Americans feel uncomfortable that Putin somehow tried to affect the elections. So liberals and democrats don’t like [the] Russian government and people who support it, but I don’t think that true republicans care about it.”

 

Regardless of whether Putin did rig the presidential election, it seems that many Americans have long-held stereotypes about Russians that are a combination of their representation in pop culture and in mainstream media. Russia has been accused of hacking into Hillary Clinton’s emails, being a huge financial backer of Trump, rigging the presidential election, appointing certain members to Trump’s cabinet, among many other things.

 

Russian-Americans, who have no involvement in Russian government, often bear the brunt of criticism by fellow Americans for their motherland’s actions. Anastasia Amelchakova, a 35-year-old mother of two, who has been living in the United States for nearly 20 years, thinks Russian stereotypes are, for the most part, a product of Anti-Russian propaganda dating back to the Cold War.

 

Amelchakova said, “There is a widely accepted stereotype about Russians being ‘tough,’ mostly inspired by the legendary cold winters, tolerance toward vodka consumption and Soviet-era propaganda. This stereotype translates into [a] perception of Russians as abrasive individuals, unyielding in arguments, with strict parenting ideology and impenetrable to personal offense.”

 

She went on to say, “Needless to say, this is actually untrue. Russian mentality is actually mostly inspired by extensive fictional literature, spiritual background and connection to nature. A true Russian, to me, is a ‘free spirit’ with a creative imagination, sociable and appreciable and quite impressionable by others’ opinion.”

 

 

As Russian-United States relations dominate headlines with Russian President Vladimir Putin engaging in risky endeavors abroad, many Russian-Americans are left with a less-than-favorable image of their country to fellow U.S. citizens.

This is not a new phenomenon. James Bond movies, circa the 1960s, have painted a negative image of Russians in the minds of many Americans, and often Russian immigrants find that image difficult to escape when attempting to assimilate to U.S. culture.

Irina Groushevaia, a 22-year-old female who emigrated from Russia after her high school graduation, has found that Americans generally have negative stereotypes associated with Russia and its people.

“When I came here, I kind of felt that everyone either thinks I’m this crazy femme fatale or thinks I’m going to show up with fake blonde hair and be a super thin model, which I’m not and they are stereotypes that everyone tries to fit me in and I don’t fit into them because the perceptions by Americans of Russians is very different from reality,” she said.

Groushevaia continued, “Of course stereotypes exist for a reason, but the way we are perceived in American movies, in American culture is just ridiculous. We’re all over the top with how we look, always in fur and stilettos and every woman is like the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. And we’re always evil and really cold and backstabbing and I think that exists in every culture, not just in Russian culture, but when you ask an American what a Russian is, it’s always a James Bond villain.”

While Russian-American relations have continued to be tense since the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, Americans’ perceptions of Russia as “the enemy” seems especially relevant in a tense political climate where rumors exist that Putin helped rig the polling system to elect President Donald Trump, an unfavorable candidate to many Americans.

(TK- interviews with other Russian immigrants, brief history of Russia’s current state of affairs (i.e. Syria, Crimea, etc.), Russia in American pop culture)

Population-
142,355,415

Languages Spoken-
Russian (85.7%), Tatar (3.2%), Ukrainian (1.4%), Bashkir (1.1%), Chuvash (1%), Chechen (1%), Other (10.2%), Unspecified (3.9%)

Religions-
Russian Orthodox (15-20%), Muslim (10-15%), Other Christian (2%)
(Russia has a large amount of non-practicing believers and non-believers due to Soviet Rule)

History-
Russia has grown from Mongol rule to the Romanov dynasty, which dominated the country until a revolution in 1905. The imperial household was overthrown in 1917, following World War I, and Vladimir Lenin rose to power forming the USSR, a communist state. The USSR was a key U.S. ally in World War II, and communism ruled the country until December 1991, when the USSR collapsed into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Following Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, which span from 1991-99), President Vladimir Putin, former head of the KGB, took office and formed an authoritarian state. Putin remains Russia’s president and rules the country in a rather oppressive manner.

Notable News Outlets-
Rossiyskaya Gazeta (government-owned), Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Trud, Argumenty i Fakty, Moskovskiye Novosti, Kommersant

Current Events-
The 2014 Ukrainian revolution caused Russian to annex Crimea, damaging East-West relations. The situation has intensified causing serious tension between Russia and the Western world, perhaps ushering in a second Cold War.

Russian Communities in NYC-
Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay (most notably)

Memo Sources-
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17839881

Contacts-
Irina Groushevaia (NYC-based, Moscow-born)
Kirill Bondar (Moscow)
Anastasia Stetsenko (Moscow)
Stephan Groushevoi (Moscow)
Elena Chadaeva (Prague-based, Moscow-born)
Anastasia Krapp (NY-based, Moscow-born)
Yulia Zakharchenko (Montreal-based, Moscow-born)

The Miami Herald is a newspaper, founded in 1903, whose headquarters are located in Doral, Florida. It is the second-largest newspaper in Florida, and has won 20 Pulitzer Prizes.

On July 27, 2005, Arthur Teele, a former Miami city commissioner, committed suicide by shooting himself in the lobby of the Herald. Teele had just been written about in another newspaper, the Miami New Times, that same day. According to the article, Teele had multiple affairs while in office, including the use of cocaine and sex with a transsexual prostitute. Before the article, Teele had a telephone conversation with Herald columnist Jim DeFede, who recorded the conversation without Teele’s knowledge. DeFede was fired from the Herald shortly after the incident, although many disagree with the paper’s handling of the columnist’s actions.

For this semester, I’d like to focus on the Russian community in Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach. Previous to the election, I spoke with a Russian woman who said that although she is an immigrant, she was voting for Trump because his policies are “good for Russia.” I’m curious if other Russian immigrants feel the same way. There are clearly many stories to be told about the United States’ current relationship and potential future relationship with Russia, specifically Vladimir Putin. In addition, with so much going on with Russia’s military and the effects of Putin’s reign on Russian citizens, this should be a timely and easy topic to cover. I also have several connections within the Russian community here in New York, so I can access an abundance of sources.