Who could be more American than Andy Williams? He sang the theme song from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Moon River, in 1962 and then never looked back until it was eventual put into the Librsry of Congress a few years ago as a hallmark of Americana. At the height of his success, in 1966, Williams wrote the theme song for another great movie that I’ve written about, Doctor Zhivago. That song was called Somewhere My Love (or Lara’s Theme), The story underlying the song is about the turbulent history of the Russian Republic. It ends with the lines…Soft as the kiss of snow, Godspeed my love till you are mine again.
Like most of my contemporaries, I struggle with my thoughts about Russia. I was 12 when Somewhere My Love was released and had you asked me about Russia then, it would have been hard to hear anything good. In 1966, U.S.-Soviet relations were in the midst of the Cold War, though this period represented a complex phase of that long confrontation. In 1966, U.S.-Soviet relations were in a particularly tense phase of the Cold War, characterized by what U.S. officials described as a “freeze” in bilateral relations. There was Vietnam and our battle against domino Communism. Brezhnev publicly condemned American “aggressors” in Vietnam as “barbarians and bandits.” If you’re a fan of the movie The Death of Stalin, as I am, you will remember Brezhnev looming over Khrushchev’s shoulder on the dais on Red Square. This is the image I have of Russian politics and the evil empire it represents. Other than Gorbachev, few Russian leaders strike me as anything other than corrupt autocrats, especially Mr. Putin, who has now ruled the country for 26 years…quickly approaching Stalin’s record 30 year rule.
The relationship between the United States and Russia spans over two centuries and has evolved through periods of cooperation, tension, and outright hostility. Russia officially recognized the United States in 1803, During the early 19th century, relations were generally positive. As both nations expanded their territories—the U.S. across North America and Russia into Alaska—they began encountering each other more frequently. Despite occasional tensions, relations remained largely cordial. A high point in 19th-century relations came in the 1850s and 1860s when the United States tacitly supported Russia during the Crimean War, and Russia backed the Union during the American Civil War. This period of goodwill culminated in Russia’s sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867.
During World War I, relations initially improved when the U.S. entered on the side of the Allies, which included Russia. However, Russia’s situation changed dramatically with the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II and its withdrawal from the war in 1918, which laid the groundwork for the Soviet Union. The relationship shifted again during World War II when both countries fought against Nazi Germany. The post-World War II period saw the emergence of the Cold War, a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. This era was characterized by the arms race and nuclear standoff, proxy wars in various regions including Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, ideological competition between communism and capitalism and the formation of opposing military alliances (NATO vs. Warsaw Pact). After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 (thank you Gorby), U.S.-Russia relations experienced a “honeymoon period” during the 1990s. Both nations signed an arms control treaty in January 1993, increased trade links, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin developed a cordial relationship with U.S. President Bill Clinton.
But NATO’s eastward expansion in 1997 to include Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic was viewed by many Russians as provocative to their interests. NATO’s 1999 intervention in Kosovo without UN backing further strained relations. In recent decades, various issues have continued to strain U.S.-Russia relations, mostly related to Ukraine. In response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the United States downgraded bilateral political and military relationships and imposed economic sanctions. More recent points of tension include disputes over American missile defense systems in Poland, conflicts over Western and Russian influence in both Ukraine and Georgia, concerns about democratic reforms and human rights in Russia, and Russian intervention in Syria.
For most of our country’s history, we have had a strong alignment with Western Europe. We have not always found it easy to support their security needs, but we have always ultimately come through our isolationist tendencies to side with them. We have disagreed on issues like Suez, Vietnam and Iraq, but generally we have stood solidly together….especially against the aggressions of Russia. Many Americans are afraid to travel to many places in the world, but they never seem to fear going to Europe.
That all seems to be changing for some reason right now. I understand that things change and worldviews do not remain static, but Russia has been and remains the evil empire, not because of its people, but because of its leadership. If I stood outside the United States, especially in Europe today, I might very well consider myself stuck between two evil empires, Russia and the U.S.. what about China, you ask? They are too busy trying to make their people prosperous and modern and global aggression seems a secondary thought at the moment. Not so for Putin and Trump. Those two are busily pushing their people down both economically and culturally while they play Masters of the Universe for personal glory and riches.
We have all wondered for a decade why Trump so admires Putin and does everything to support his interests. All speculation and investigatory evidence aside, it is safe to just say that it’s so. The most recent round of “negotiations” between Ukraine the U.S. prove the point. Everything Putin wants is in the U.S. peace plan that Ukraine AND Europe reject wholeheartedly. Trump has clearly written a new chapter in the U.S./Russian relations history, and to what end? Will America now be anti-Europe? That is still too far-fetched to imagine. We have lost Europe’s trust, but do we love Europe any less? Not the America I know. I believe Americans at their core are still against everything Putin’s Russia stands for. Those who support Trump are blindly following him off a cliff on this issue just as they have with tariffs. But just as they have started to come to their senses on tariffs, they will come to their senses on Putin as well. He has denied Trump the easy Ukraine peace win he campaigned on and eventually even the Trump worm will turn for reasons of self-interest.
Putin is singing Somewhere My Love about Ukraine “till you are mine again” while Trump is left with nothing but “the kiss of snow”. As unpredictable as Trump likes to fashion himself, there is one thing you can always count on and that is that his egotism will prevail. As they say In the old westerns, “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us (them)”. The first known variation of this phrase in Western films appeared in 1929, when Walter Huston’s character in The Virginian said, “This world isn’t big enough for the both of us!” This phrase typically serves as a stock phrase that illustrates how two Arch-Enemies are unable to peacefully coexist in the same place or situation, and how one of them must inevitably give way to the other. It’s often delivered during the challenge to a duel or before a showdown at high noon.
I don’t know if there is a showdown coming at high noon. Putin doesn’t have the guns and Trump doesn’t have the balls, but I think that loving relationship is likely to freeze up and they will return to diplomatic Siberia wondering where they lost that loving feeling.