Obama appeals to skeptical Russians

MOSCOW — Barack Obama dolls have hit Moscow shelves and a bar is handing out half-price cocktails to anyone who says the magic words “Yes we can” in anticipation of the American president’s arrival here Monday for a summit.

“Obama has a wonderful smile, a face showing his self-confidence and clarity of mind,” says Tatyana Verkhova, who has reproduced Obama’s megawatt grin on a growing army of wooden Matryoshka nesting dolls.

But while Obama’s star power is generating buzz here, the enthusiasm doesn’t extend to Russian feelings about how he’s doing as president: In fact, a series of recent polls here show that most Russians are skeptical of the new U.S. leader and remain wary of his country.

A June poll conducted by Russia’s authoritative Levada Center found that only 28 percent of Russians thought that relations with the U.S. had improved under Obama, while 61 percent said they had remained the same or worsened.

“It remains to be seen about Obama … too early to tell,” said a dubious Feyodor Guzan, a retiree, as he stood outside a Moscow McDonald’s restaurant. “The president is important, but it’s also the people that surround him that make a difference.”

Skepticism is particularly acute in predominantly Muslim regions of Russia like Dagestan, where U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been deeply unpopular.

“I like the culture and the people, but the government is stupid,” said Kamil Musayev, a 21-year-old in Dagestan. “They just send their soldiers to kill and they do what they’re told.”

The Levada poll’s findings were buttressed by a survey by the U.S. WorldPublicOpinion.org, which found that just 23 percent of Russians were confident that Obama would “do the right thing,” while 55 percent said they were not confident he would do so.

To broaden his slim Russian support base, Obama plans to spend most of his two-day visit trying to talk directly to the Russian public, including business leaders, civic activists and the country’s tiny liberal democratic opposition.

He is expected in particular to reach out to young Russians, who are generally more supportive.

“America is an awesome country,” said Daniil Kim, 13, who plans to attend a U.S. youth camp in the fall. “It has cheaper brands, it’s the land of rap and Barack Obama. I even have an Obama T-shirt.”

Attitudes toward the United States have chilled in recent years amid growing political tensions and state media coverage and commentary that depicted the U.S. as a hostile power. Government officials have also repeatedly blamed the U.S. for the global economic crisis.

While much of the public remains wary of Obama, government media have softened their criticism of the White House in recent months.

Lilia Shevtsova, a liberal commentator and chair of the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions program, said recent surveys do not reflect what she sees: strong grassroots support for Obama.

“I would say this is the only American president who has met with such interest, hope and anticipation in Russia,” she said.

She conceded, though, that Obama’s support here has come “despite the fact that we have every day, every week, anti-American propaganda” in Russia’s state media.

Associated Press Writers Nataliya Vasilyeva and Lynn Berry contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS SUBS lede to correct that cocktails half-price, sted free; APTN video)