Russia Profile Weekly Experts Panel: United States Looms Large in Russian Elections

Introduced by Vladimir Frolov Russia Profile 02/03/2012 The new U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul got off to a rocky start on his second day on the job by hosting a meeting with Russian opposition leaders at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow (actually, the meeting was set up for the visiting Undersecretary of State Bill Burns, while Ambassador McFaul played the host according to the diplomatic protocol). Is the United States looming large in Russia’s presidential elections? How serious is the “U.S. factor” in influencing Russian voters’ preferences? Is Putin’s tactic of whipping up anti-American hysteria actually paying off for his presidential campaign? Is there, or will there be a “Russian factor” in the U.S. presidential race? http://russiaprofile.org/experts_panel/53857.html