I don’t think there is a lot of prejudice against Russians in general in the U.S. There are the usual stereotypes but that isn’t exactly the same thing. The main reason I think there isn’t that much prejudice against them is that there just aren’t that many in most places in the U.S. Contrary to popular belief, prejudice isn’t based mostly on ignorance. You get the most prejudice when there is a large enough population of a certain group that is different from you enough that you see it as a threat to your way of life.
For people my age or older who grew up during the Cold War, we certainly grew up fearing Mother Russia but we were also taught that it was a game of equal adversaries. The Russians were depicted as cold and brutal but certainly not dumb or people to be taken likely. Most people were happy to get the chance to meet an actual Russian on our own soil who wasn’t here to take it over. I still feel that way a little and I get the chance sometimes because there are a number of them working in my field. Growing up, they were just rivals that I read about.
It might be different if you live in a neighborhood filled with Russian hoodlums but the critical mass just isn’t there most places. Most of the Russians I know work in respectable fields like medicine or technology.
Time required may vary a lot from location to location and field to field (one of my uncles has four doctorates, but got them all as a part-time student and one of them did not require him to attend classes), but the functionality is the same. They’re supposed to prepare you to manage research teams or teach at the university level.
As Russian-American living in the US (12 years in the midwest, 2 years in the south-east), I think there’s still some prejudice. It’s not that Americans are going out of their way to be rude, but that theyknow zilch about Russians and Russian culture outside of (as someone else already mentioned) communism, vodka, and domestic violence. (Sounds like the Irish stereotype, doesn’t it?)
With that said, I do not believe that being Russian had ever caused me to be discriminated against in the work place, nor caused me to have any less genuine friendships with fellow Americans. (And maybe a few German-Americans along the way.)
Yeah, it’s a different culture, from a different standpoint. Life goes on.
Also, in the American South, there’s still a great deal of prejudice against outsiders of any type. An ethnic Russian would face discrimination not because he or she was Russian but because they did not practice whatever the local accepted religions were and couldn’t trace their ancestory back a few generations in the local area.
That is the standard line in popular thought but how realistic is it? The South includes Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sure, you will see that in some small areas and people are often interested in your religion but that won’t stop a Russian programmer from getting a job or getting patients if she/he is a good doctor. This isn’t 1950. There is air conditioning and minorities of all different types across the South who do quite well. People will notice and talk if you are Russian and new to to area but general friendliness is part of the culture as well. Minorities are a part of the South even in the smallest areas unlike some other places like Northern New England and things seem to work fine most of the time. Some Russians may even like it there if they can take the heat.
Are there many stereotypes surrounding Russian women in the US? Not regarding prostitution per se, but I get the impression that in some quarters Russian gals are regarded as incredibly mercenary (and again, given their backgrounds, with good reason probably).
I’ve been stuck in the south on and off for decades. I’ve never seen general friendliness as part of the culture directed at anyone who was remotely different from the dominant group though minorities may be friendly to each other and other outcasts. I actually found former Yugoslavia during the ethnic cleansing wars more hospitable to strangers.
Different strokes I guess. My grandmother, the life-long Baptist practically adopted some kids from a Napalese family when she lived in Arkansas. There were college students from all over and they seemed to like it just fine. We had some German exchange students in my tiny Louisiana town. I think we were good to them as well and we certainly took an interest in them. As you know, the South is big and diverse. If you are having problems with people being friendly there, I have a map of the U.S. where I could show where most people wouldn’t care if you lived or died let alone what church you attend.