THE PERCEPTION OF RUSSIA THROUGH THE PRISM OF WESTERN VALUES
The paper is concerned with the perception of Russia through stereotypes of the Western mind and ensuing problems in intercultural communication. Cross-cultural communication is based on systems of values, which gave rise to standards of human conduct. These standards serve as a basis for social stereotypes, which are necessary for the mastering of reality. Social stereotypes have led to distorted or absolutely wrong perception of complicated phenomena in other cultures. This idea is illustrated by the example of the aggressive foreign policy of the United States, which is based on a dogmatic system of stereotypes. Also, it is shown how embedded stereotypes are projected onto Russia, and arguments are given to disprove them. A publication of American traveler and explorer G. Kennan is subjected to a detailed analysis in terms of transmission of Western social stereotypes and their disproval by the author himself. Kennan’s conclusions continue to be relevant to present-day Russia. The novelty of the study consists in the application of the axiological approach.