While the sign at left might seem to be the work of an Ugly American, it was in fact in the window of a club in Tallinn, Estonia catering mainly to Estonians and Finnish tourists.(To see an enlargement, press here.) Relatively few Americans are to be found in Estonia, yet the popularity of American culture there and elsewhere in Eastern Europe is undeniable.

Apart from signs in trendy clubs, the evidence of growing American influence is widely found in former Soviet Bloc countries. Rock music, which began in a bar in Cleveland, Ohio, can now be heard in clubs, restaurants, hotels, and even trains in Eastern Europe. American corporations have greatly expanded operations there (the McDonald's. sign in the picture below advertises cheeseburgers in Tallinn). Furthermore, academics from universities in the US have been able to travel and do research in ways undreamed of ten years ago. The American dollar has been a strong currency everywhere, but its significance in Eastern Europe is especially remarkable. In many Russian restaurants and shops, prices are stated in dollars even though all customers must pay in rubles. This practice is designed to protect store owners and restauranteurs against inflation: in the 1970's the official exchange rate was about one ruble to one dollar, but in 1997 it was about 6,000 rubles to one dollar.

With the growing American cultural influence, the English language has also made an impact. In a study of loanwords in Latvian (Veisbergs 1994), a wide variety of borrowings are discussed, including these: smagais metaala 'heavy metal' zvaignu kari 'star wars' ziepju opera 'soap opera' elektriskais kreesls 'electric chair'

Along with the loan translations, many English words have been borrowed directly, among them: brain drain, break dance, hot dog, know how, and mass media. While the impact of America on Eastern Europe has grown in the 20th century, the influence has not been one-way. English has long had words from Russian in the language: the OED dates steppe back to 1671, for example. On the other hand, some loans date to the Soviet era (1917-1991), including sputnik, samizdat, and glasnost, with these words suggesting some of the concerns of America, Britain, and other Western countries during the Cold War.

The pro-American attitudes found in Eastern Europe are not universal, even if the conflicts over Kosovo had never occurred. Multinational corporations are not always trusted, and there is hardly any liking for the subclass of businessmen from the United States who show little interest or respect for the language or culture of Russia and other nations. Moreover, some Russians are clearly bitter over the loss of an empire and the triumph of capitalism, which can be far harsher on people there than it is in the West. Even so, the relative prosperity and freedom of the United States are often admired, and the countries once dominated by Russia often remember the stance of America in both the Cold War and World War II.

The history of Eastern Europe from 1939 to 1989 was traumatic. Countries in the region had the misfortune of being overrun by the armies of Hitler as well as Stalin. In the so-called Nonaggression Pact of 1939, these two dictators agreed to partition Poland, and the USSR got a green light to annex the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In the resulting war, Poland and the Baltic states suffered a loss of population comparable to that of Cambodia in the 1970's (Misiunas and Taagepera 1983). The genocide, torture, and repression of World War II and its aftermath have profoundly shaped the political culture of Eastern Europe, with names such as Heinreich Himmler and Lavrenty Beria still known there. Though highly controversial in the United States, the decision to invite Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been welcomed in those countries. While the Cold War is over, many people in Eastern Europe maintain the hope, rightly or wrongly, that an American shield will guarantee peace, prosperity, and freedom.

Sources for this page:

Romuald Misiunas and Rein Taagepera (1983).The Baltic States: Years of Dependence. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Andrejs Veisbergs (1994) "Borrowings of English idioms in Latvian." Journal of Baltic Studies 25: 43-52.