Despite its 140 years of history, Russian ethnic press in the United States has been an untapped area in media research. Who are Russian Americans? Where do their loyalties lie? Can multiculturalism overcome partisanship in highly conflictual situations? What answers to all these questions do Russian ethnic newspapers have in store? This book addresses our knowledge gap with respect to Russian ethnic media in the U.S. and attempts to shed light on ethnic and political identity of Russian Americans. It examines news coverage of eight U.S.-Russian foreign policy controversies, including the tone of the coverage, attributes assigned to the two countries, and whether or not the conflict between them has been emphasized in each case. It strives to understand whether or not Russian ethnic newspapers in the United States consistently support one side over the other and, ultimately, whether people reading these newspapers are more likely to consider themselves American, Russian or a combination of both.
