Russian Bear

The Russian Bear is a National personification for Russia, used in cartoons and articles at least since the 19th century, and relating alike to Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the present post-Soviet Russia.

It often was and is used by Westerners, to begin with especially in Britain and later also in the US, and not always in a flattering context - on occasion used to imply that Russia is "big, brutal and clumsy" (see 19th century cartoon below).

The bear image was, however, on various occasions (especially in the 20th century) also taken up by Russians themselves. Having the teddy bear "Misha" as the mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games - boycotted by numerous countries due to the invasion of Afghanistan - was evidently intended to counter the "big and brutal Russian Bear" image with a small, cuddly bear.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was some support in the Russian Parliament for having a bear as the new Russian coat of arms - with the proposers pointing out that "Russia is anyway identified in the world with the Bear" - though eventually it was the Tsarist coat of arms of the Double-headed eagle which was restored.

Later, the bear was taken up as the symbol of The United Russia Party, which at present dominates political life in Russia. Coincidentally, the family name of Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president elected from that party in 2008, is the genitive of медведь, meaning "bear".

Russia's shape lends itself well to the drawing of the shape of a bear. During the Soviet Era, the bear was most often drawn facing west, with the head being made up of Russian satellite states. Nowadays with the new shape of Russia the bear usually faces its rear end towards Europe and its head is the Far East. It almost touches Alaska with its nose.

Banner_depicting_the_Russian_Bear_unfurled_by_Russian_football_supporters.Image:United_Russia_logo.gif|A_bear_as_the_symbol_of_The_United Russia Party.
An_older_logo_of_the_party.Image:IranUSSRBritain.jpg|The_Russian_Bear_sits_on_the_tail_of_the_Persian_Cat_while_the_British Lion looks on - a cartoon representing a phase of The Great Game.