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On May 9th Russia will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war, known to Russians as the Great Patriotic War. It ought to be a moment for joint commemoration between Russia and the West. Instead, “Victory day” as it is called in Russia, has come to serve as a reminder to Russians that their overwhelming contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany was never properly recognised by Britain and America. This year, to add further insult, most Western leaders have refrained from attending the celebration, a decision that many Russians will see as confirmation of their continued struggle against the West. How do Russians see the West? The mainstream view is that America is anti-Russian. In fact, some 81% of Russians see the country as a threat to Russia. Anti-Americanism has become the main component of Vladimir Putin’s ideology. It plays to the feeling of resentment that many Russians feel towards America and the West. Having craved and even mythologised America in the 80s and 90s, Russians feel they have been snubbed: Despite their wealth and embrace of Western lifestyles, Russia’s elite feel they have not been accepted by the West as equals. Behind this anti-Americanism is a feeling of jealousy and resentment. The Kremlin has capitalised on this, peddling a narrative in which America is seeking to contain Russia and sponsor everything that is anti-Russian. In a recent documentary Vladimir Putin, the bellicose president, observed that America regarded Russia as its main geopolitical rival. But not all Russians would agree. The country’s liberals and intelligentsia, who make up about 15 percent of the population and live mainly in cities, still believe that converging with Europe and the west is Russia’s ultimate destiny. Boris Nemstov, a liberal politician and one of the people who protested against Putin’s anti-Americanism and war-mongering, was shot dead in Moscow on February 27th of this year. Flipping the mirror, how do we see Russia? The Western view is that paranoid defensiveness has done a fine job distracting many Russians from their country’s shaky economy, fettered media and limited personal freedoms. It has also helped bolster Mr Putin’s approval ratings to 90%.