Everyone knows that at the time of McCarthyism there was no reason to laugh. In that atmosphere no one particularly spoke out against “black” lists, against imprisonment for those who was not willing to "cooperate." It is true that nobody was killed though there were many suicides. Most people were destroyed morally and economically. Nevertheless, it did not at all resemble Stalin's repressions - neither in style nor in essence. At the same time, it should be recalled that we are not talking about the Soviet Union of 1937, but about a country which has two centuries of experience of democracy, a country whose security was not actually threatened by anyone. "
The extract from the book "Parting with Illusions" by Vladimir Pozner
On the eve of the US presidential elections, which are scheduled for the November 3, an advertising banner appeared on the one of the buildings in downtown Manhattan urging not to ignore the elections and vote. “Vote! Because the Russian language lessons are expensive,”- was mentioned on the poster.
“We are talking about ethnic discrimination that affects the Russian-speaking residents of the United States,”- said Natalya Sabelnik, head of the Congress of Russian Americans (CRA), in an interview with RIA Novosti. This campaign was supported on social networks by Joseph Biden's followers. Journalists and experts are sure that the battle for the presidential chair is going to be fierce, and the "Russian case" will be played regardless of the outcome of the elections, since the anti-Russia outbreak on the eve of the vote is not a seasonal phenomenon in the United States, but a long playing political trend.
“This story is dangerous in the sense that it plays on the anti-Russian sentiment that arose quite a long time ago. I mean back in 2016, when the Democratic Party and the news media that supports it began to accuse Russia of meddling in the electoral process. And when, in fact, the Democratic Party explained its absolute defeat namely by this "intervention", that, they said that Trump won because Russia intervened in the process and helped him. And then there were all sorts of accusations against Trump that he had a kind of collusion with Russia. Although no evidence was shown, nevertheless the sediment that Russia dared to interfere in the electoral process, of course, remained,”- said a journalist and broadcaster Vladimir Pozner in his interview with Rossotrudnichestvo. “At that time the Democrats were confident of victory, the defeat of Hillary Clinton was completely unexpected for them. Today they are absolutely unsure of their victory. That is to say that nobody knows who will win on 3 November. To be on the safe side, recalling again the so-called “Russian interference” in the electoral process is such a good move for the Democratic Party. Because if they lose, and they may lose, they will again write off their loss on Russia and will demand blood. Roughly speaking - new sanctions. If they win, they will say: well, despite Russian intervention, we won, but we will not forgive them, and they need to be punished so that they understand that we will not allow anyone to interfere in the affairs of the United States. And in this case, this is a rather dangerous move. "
Andrei Korobkov, Professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University, in his turn, notes that in recent years, the FBI has targeted not only the so-called "Russian hackers", but also scientists and engineers from Russia who work in the United States. "Unfortunately, this trend leads to a further deterioration in Russian-US relations, poses a threat to a significant number of scientists and qualified specialists working in the United States, and creates an atmosphere of suspicion and intolerance, primarily in the field of natural and technical sciences, "-said Korobkov.
"The Candidates for the post of the US President have markedly different views on this issue: Biden, a product of the Cold War, in every possible way promotes versions of the Russian threat and assistance from the Russian special services to Trump's election campaign.
Trump naturally rejects this version, emphasizing that the main threat to the United States is China, not Russia. " The professor is convinced that regardless of the outcome of the elections in the States the anti-Russian card will continue to be played. The mainstream about the attack of the so-called "Russian hackers" will be supplemented by stuffing about industrial and electronic espionage, and "the presence of millions of immigrant specialists in the United States creates massive opportunities for this campaign." “At the same time, the political incentives for all sorts of exaggeration of the “Russian threat ” are still remaining: if Trump wins, he will be endlessly accused of being dependent on Russia and of ineffective work to protect the American market and the research sphere. If Biden, the Cold War standard-bearer, gains a victory, those will come to power, who are driven by deep hostility to Russia and ready to play with joy the “Russian card” both in foreign policy and in the internal political struggle,"- summed up Korobkov.
Interviewed by Oleg Osipov