What are the Americans look like Russians? Why did they choose Trump if they no longer believe in the state? Says the journalist and author of the Podkasta “Forgotten in America” ​​Dan Storev

One of the most discussed Russian-speaking podcasts of the beginning of 2025 is “forgotten in America” from the Story Studio. In it, friends travel on the old pickup in dysfunctional areas of the United States. On the way, they communicate with supporters of Trump, eco-activists, deeply believing prisoners and guides through swamps with alligators. The co -author of the podcast Dan Storev told about his impressions of conversations, the support of Trump in the American outback, conspiracy theories and the similarities of Russia and the USA. This text has one obscene word. If this is unacceptable for you, please do not read this material. “I always thought that Russia and America are very similar to each other” – tell me a little about yourself. Where are you working now? And what has been doing in recent years? -Until 2022, I was engaged in academic research and journalism. My main interests: mass movements, protests and international relations. I specialized in the relations of the Soviet Union, Russia and the United States. I believe that Russia and America are very similar to each other. I want people from these countries to get closer and better understand each other. Therefore, I am especially interested in, or diplomacy of the second track is diplomacy that people without diplomatic status do: civilian, journalists, cultural figures. When a full -scale invasion began (to Ukraine), I realized that I did not want to sit at the Academy at such a moment. I wanted to work in a field that will do everything possible to achieve peace in the region and at least some changes for the better in Russia. Therefore, I began to work as a journalist-journalist in Ukraine, and then I began to look for other areas of work. I called me to receive a doctoral degree, but I refused and began to work at the OVD-Info at the end of 2022. Now I am leading the English-language direction of the project-I am responsible for communication with people who speak English & and writing a newsletter. – In fact, your work has always been at the junction between the English -speaking and Russian -speaking world, between the USA and Russia. – Yes, always. I told most of my life to people who speak English about the post -Soviet space. I went to a conditional Samarkand and wrote an article in English, they say, look at how interesting in Samarkand. The initial concept of the podcast was to turn this dynamics upside down and make a project for Russian -speaking people about America. – Why did you decide to show the listener just such an America? Why did the choice fall on, poor areas with bad air and high crime? -Firstly, because the prosperous and powerful America will be shown to the Russian-speaking reader-including Medusa. You have a wonderful feldman who went to the election by the correspondent, and a bunch of people who position themselves as Americanists – they will show such America. Secondly, it seems to me that showing another America is more honest. When people look west, they always look at a beautiful showcase, where Elon Musk launched a rocket. Since I came to journalism from the research of mass movements and look at the world through the left optics, I am more interested in the life of ordinary people in America, and not what is happening in a White House or Capitol. Thirdly, it seems to me that through this optics you can develop a dialogue between Russians and Americans. It is important for me to convey to people that in America, too, not everything is so good and there people face approximately the same problems as in Russia: poverty, poverty and inequality. When I communicate with the Russians, they say to me: “You (in the USA), huge cars and all that.” If I say to the interlocutor: “Go to Louisiana, and you will see the suburbs of a conventional Voronezh,” – this (the similarity of the USA and Russia) will reach a person much better. “I did not think that we would talk with the first oncoming and he would begin to give out, which sound like Mikhail Svetov’s tweets” – in almost all issues you stop on the road and communicate with passers -by. I noticed that after a couple of minutes of the conversation they begin to sound a little caricatured: they mention 5G pits, satanism or blame the global government in everything. What did you feel during these conversations? And why, it seems to you, is this happening? – On the one hand, I was glad that we found people interesting for podcast. On the other hand, I was surprised. I did not think that we would talk with the first oncoming and they would begin to give out, which sound like the tweet of Mikhail Svetov. But I quickly realized that (in this region) people think so and really believe in the global government. Of course, you can’t revenge all under one comb – hundreds of thousands of people live in the staff, and we talked with, conditionally, five. But still it is indicative. It became sad for me, because (the belief of people in conspiracy) is primarily the omission of people like me – this is the failure of journalism and left -wing politicians in the United States, who could not explain that they are not reptilians under the handle with Mexicans, and Jeff Bezos takes the surplus value from them. And they are bad because of this, and not because Bill Gates irradiated them. – I just had the feeling that the heroes of the podcast were saturated with distrust of the classic sources of information – television and publications. And how then do people recognize the news? What do they consider truthful? – The chapter has a wonderful piece on this topic. When we say to our conductor along the swamps of Louisiana that we are podcasters – she blurred in a smile and replies that she herself receives all the information from the podcasts. It is interesting that the Americans who are subject to propaganda have vocabular in many ways coincide with the vocabulary of Russian liberals. Both those and others have Independent Media, or independent media. Only the Russian liberal has in mind the “Medusa”, and the Americans have in mind Joe Rogan or, and similar strange characters. “It seemed to me that your interlocutors were a little ashamed to talk about their position, as if they were afraid of something.” Why so? -There is a famous topic that people who said in election surveys: “No, no, no, we will not vote for Trump”, as a result for Trump. The idea that “everything around the liberals” strongly presses people even in conservative states. After all, they read the scarecases where they say that “again, Zakenseli our republican boy, he hung on the cross and cried.” Therefore, there is still fear (condemnation), but in the near future it will come to naught (thanks to the actions of the Trump administration). “It doesn’t matter to me whether he is right or left. The main thing is that he burned everything ” – your interlocutors love to nostalgia. And often they miss the time in which they did not live – from the last century to. Why so? – In many ways, this is a common conservative line: to come up with a great past and mounds of great ancestors, and then yearn for them. Most likely, the image of the past is in no way connected with reality, but this is not important. The main thing is to come up with a narrative and repeat that “we will return to a wonderful past.” In Russia, conservatives also like to perspectly – and this is another common feature of Russians and Americans. But it is important to understand that conservatives are not born conservatives. There are concrete material problems that put pressure on people: inequality, poverty and unemployment. However, the current American conservative Trumpov idea is that it is about to squint as tightly as possible and not talk about real problems. This idea that you need to return to the past, make American Great Again, throw out all migrants and so on. This is a kind of escapism that I explain through the prism of false consciousness. Conservative and right -wing policies that are popular in these regions do not deal with real problems, but offer a way out in the form of conspiracyology: “Let me explain to you why LGBTK, Jews, Arabs and so on are to blame for your problems.” You can make a list (guilty) yourself, and anyone will be in it, except for the ruling class. – Often from conspiracy theories, your interlocutors turn to the discussions about the final battle and say that we are close to the end of the world and now we need to choose the side. How do you explain this? And it seems to you, it was connected with the election race? – Yes, partially. This is clearly visible from the apocalyptic statements of the mask, which said that humanity would be doomed if Trump had not won. In the United States, there is now a lot of this – it is called, the eschatologicality of how you perceive the world. In America it is (talking about the end of the world, the final battle between good and evil) really rolled in the air. Moreover, this feeling is difficult to explain with statistics. Condic liberals love to say, they say, we have the best indicators in economics in recent years, we have expanded NATO and so on. And on paper, this is, in principle, true. The problem is that these successes are not felt at the emotional level. The previous generation of my family says that America is now reminiscent of the Brezhnev USSR. Everything went up strongly, and it is felt that prices rose, even in the USA not small salaries. One friend of mine formulated: now in America everything has become $ 50. Four years ago, you could take a walk, drink coffee and have a bite to eat for $ 20. And now Go out, go to a restaurant or spending time as you like, will cost 50 bucks. This is another example of everyday anthropology, which is based on emotions, and not on economic facts. It seems to me that this (observation of an emotional background) is important: the fact that public transport works poorly is a lot of garbage on the streets, and so on – there is really an eschatologism in this. In America, everything is done “not for people.” – It turns out “forgotten in America” – these are the people that you are talking about? Abandoned by the state? – Yes, these are people on whom everyone fuck. It seems to me that many people just had a little children’s reaction. They thought: “Fuck you, you built a society that does not pay attention to me – now I will choose a person who promised to demolish you all to hell.” My friends who voted for Trump talked about such motivation. It didn’t matter who was there – the right or left politician. The main thing is that he burned everything and something changes, because the feeling of stagnation is pressing. – What do you think, how now people in the southern states react to the last decrees of Trump, to his intention to join Greenland, in general, what is happening now? – Many rejoice. Often, for people who adhere to conservative, right -handed views, imperialism is fun and interesting. This is also about: people have a huge number of real problems, but they are intrusively slipping their solution through the annexation of Greenland. In this sense, again, Russia and America are Siamese Gemini. There is also a huge number of problems in Russia, and the authorities slip a solution in the form of a aggressive war. “At the end of the podcast, you say that you began to want to return to America less.” Why? – You know, there is a certain dramatization of my decision in the podcast. I do not refuse these words, but there is a nuance. In many ways, I cannot live in America now, because I work with a Russian human rights organization. This is my main priority, and it is important for me to work in European time. But partly, it’s really dumb to live with people who think that the reptilians control the world. The other side, when I look at what is happening after the election, I really want to return as a human rights activist. I would like to now help to import people to the USA somewhere on the southern border, to help those whom they want to deport, work with American civil society and media. I am partially an American, so I am responsible for what is happening in the USA now. And I am horrified by what I see now. Oximiron was accused of grooming and sexualized violence against adolescents that we learned from the investigation of journalist Nastya Krasilnikovooksimiron accused of grooming and sexualized violence of teenagers that we learned from the investigation of journalist Nastya Krasilnikova (Tagstotranslate) News

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