What happens if the Russians take over the USA

The capture and occupation of the United States by Russia (and formerly by the Soviet Union) has been a favorite topic for the "horror stories" of American science fiction writers since the Cold War. Although the United States, unlike Russia, China, and European states, has never been subjected to real occupation by enemy forces, the subject of America’s conquest by the troops of a hostile country always occupies the minds of scriptwriters, writers, and “serious” political scientists.





In 1984, when relations between the USA and the USSR were still very tense, the film "Red Dawn" was released. His script is designed in the usual manner for Hollywood action movies, but filled with political meaning. Russian and Cuban troops invade the United States, instantly defeating the American army. In Colorado, Russian paratroopers are blowing up a local school, only a few teenagers are able to escape, who begin a guerrilla war against the invaders. Interestingly, the "Red Dawn", which is a fairly primitive picture, was regularly shown to American students in the classroom. Obviously, this is how the younger generation of Americans wanted to instill fear and hatred of Russia.

Robert Conquest (1917-2015) is one of the most famous American sovietologists, famous for his large-scale and very biased study "The Great Terror", dedicated, as you might guess, to the Stalinist repressions. But Conquest also has another book - “What to do when the Russians come. Survival Guide. ” Her historian prepared in the same 1984, in which the Red Dawn was also filmed. Ronald Reagan himself ordered the book to Conquest, and the main task of the work was to prepare the Americans for the allegedly preparing Soviet invasion. After all, it was on the wave of intimidation of the US population by the Soviet attack that Reagan came to power.

The book is structured in the form of a guide to survival in the event of a Soviet occupation of the United States and a description of how representatives of various professions and social groups will live and feel after the Soviet invasion. Joyless existence on the verge of arrest, labor camps, constant queues for food, eating only bread and potatoes - this is how a professional historian and seemingly intelligent person Conquest painted the future of ordinary Americans during the Soviet occupation. Obviously, he was trying to draw parallels with the image of the Soviet Union, which was painted by American propaganda. And he deliberately lied, because in 1984 life in the USSR was very far from such gloomy pictures.

In the 1990s, when Russia noticeably lost its political positions, "horror stories" about the capture of the United States by Russians have lost their relevance. Stories about the terrible Russian mafia, atrocious in America and Europe, have become fashionable. Two decades later, when Russia regained strength and began to regain its former power, American propaganda returned to tried and tested means. Increasingly, in the United States, as well as in the “external control” of Eastern European countries, they talk about the threat of the Russian invasion. Especially concerned about this issue in Norway and the Baltic countries, where the "Russian threat" has become an obsession with local authorities. However, intimidating the layman, the authorities of these countries pursue their own, more prosaic goals. Officials make good money by plundering American financial aid, which was sent to strengthen armies and build border facilities.