The younger generation of Russians and Americans are mixing better, but Russian polling shows that they still fear the other nation’s politicians.

President Obama has initiated numerous efforts to reset cooperation with Russia, but at the time of his Moscow summit in July, Russian polls conducted by the Levada Company gave Obama one of his lowest opinion rankings worldwide.

Only 23 percent of Russians had confidence in Obama to do the right thing in international affairs, while 55 percent say they were not confident. Only 12 percent said the U.S. treats Russia fairly, while 75 percent said that the US abuses its power.

At the July summit in Moscow, Obama asserted that the old hardliners like Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin be more open with social reform and civil rights, but conveyed trust in the handpicked successor of the former President and one time KGB officer.

“I think it’s important, even as we move forward with President [Dmitry] Medvedev, that Putin understand that the old cold war approach to US-Russian relations is outdated … I think Medvedev understands that,” Obama told the press at the July summit.

Americans polled in that Levada survey expressed much the same cautious opinion of Russia’s leaders, as only 27 percent of Americans expressed confidence in Russian Prime Minister Putin, while 69 percent did not.

Vadim Niktin, a research fellow with the Foreign Policy Association in Washington, D.C., was raised in Russia and believes Obama must match words with deeds to win over the cynical Russian people.

“Under Putin, favorable polls for America fluctuated, and Russians are even more cynical about Western politicians than they are of their own politicians,” Niktin told Scoop Daily. “Russia has been in a position to react to events and still cannot dictate events. Events like Obama removing radar and anti-aircraft in Poland was looked on favorably but they didn’t think it was good enough. Some think this is only a temporary shuffle of policy in America and that they’ll do something different later.”

Along with loosening military equipment in Eastern Europe, Obama has reached out for cooperation on Afghanistan and on nuclear proliferation to try to find a solution to deal with Iran and North Korea. President Dmitry Medvedev has allowed American planes to fly through Russian airspace en route to Afghanistan and Iraq, supplying these planes with midair refueling.

Niktin believes Russia’s proximity to Afghanistan and trade history with Iran makes Russia a ready and valuable partner.

“American engagement [in Afghanistan] is a common ground thing that Russia could benefit from,” according to Niktin. “Russia doesn’t want Iran to get angry and they don’t want a nuclear Iran since it’s right next door. They have traded a lot with Middle Eastern countries like Iran and Iraq. They lost millions in trade investments when Americans invaded Iraq, but I think Russia has been playing a very constructive role and can be a good Middle East mediator. America recognizes this and it’s the only reason it has kept Russia around in such negotiations.”

Aside from the foreign policy cooperation with Russia, Obama has a fairly conservative chief Russian advisor in Michael McFaul, who is pressuring change for Russia’s domestic affairs. McFaul also criticized NATO for not going along with the Bush administration’s plan to expand NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia, something that would be seen in Moscow as tightening the noose around Russia.

“Michael McFaul is really not a qualified advisor since he doesn’t recognize the special kind of democracy,” believes Niktin. “Nothing Medvedev is doing right now is without Putin’s permission, but it’s not as though Putin is pulling Medvedev’s strings. I don’t think Putin really represented the big opposition to American-Russian relations. A lot of the liberal figures have been allowed to speak against the government. I think if Putin were to return to power Obama would not pay that much attention to internal Russian affairs anymore, since on Afghanistan he made clear it’s not about politics.”

Niktin is suspicious of McFaul because of his complicity with efforts by Clinton administration economists to encourage an economic oligarchy to re-elect former President Boris Yeltsin – efforts Putin successfully used to turn Russians against Yeltsin. Yet Niktin believes such lingering paranoia among politicians does not resonate as heavily among the Millennial generation of Russian immigrants raised in America.

“I think an interesting development is the Russian Jewish aspect in America has become much more engaged with Russia,” said Niktin. “I think it used to be much more insular and nostalgic. Writers have begun spending summers in Russia, lost their accents, gone more by their Russian names and changed some political views. These people were culturally Russian, but kind of played into the kind of politicized negative political role. They had been out of touch but are no longer as divided into two camps and have questioned some of the anti-Soviet baggage their parents had when they came to America.”

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