Essay Contest

How do you think your home country might be affected by the outcome of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election?

By: Darya Aleksandrova

I'm sitting with my American friends around a table in the library chatting light-heartedly and discussing the newspaper. It's humid outside and for them it's hard to believe that in Russia it was snowing three days ago. Suddenly one of them draws my attention to the local newspaper and points at the name of the article: " John McCain's tough stance toward Russia".

To tell the truth, I did not realize that the Presidential election in America will affect my country until that moment. There is an ocean between our countries; we even live on different continents! For Heaven's sake, how could the elections here have an influence on my country?

After recent events in Georgia the relationship between Russia and America has become strained. Specifically after the conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia attacked South Ossetia, provoking a brutal response from Russia. President Bush finally demanded that Moscow must withdraw its troops from Georgia, but Russia wasn't in the mood to agree to anything that might damage its power or pride. The Russian invasion of Georgia destroyed any hopes of them becoming a part of NATO. So what changes will happen in the relationship between Russia and America after the Presidential elections?

McCain's statement "The glimmerings of democracy are very faint in Russia today, and so I would be very harsh" didn't add much to his popularity in my country. McCain suggested excluding Russia out of the Group of 8, the organization of the world's leading industrial powers. Once he mentioned that "Russia is using its natural resources, gas and oil as a weapon". That's why he decided to investigate America's natural resources and started to look at drilling for oil in America. That means that the USA would not buy Russian oil and trade between our countries will stop. Maybe McCain sees Russia as an enemy, but the most important thing is that he wants, as a President, to make the relationship between the countries better. His concern about the global warming and his intentions to make the climate better would be positive issues globally, because now in Russia the government is making laws prohibiting pollution of the environment and intends to decrease the pollution. It might be something our countries could possibly work together on to help the environment.

Barack Obama has the curiosity to discuss and try to resolve the controversial questions. He says: "I'm going to set up a big government apparatus, I'm going to redistribute income and I'm going to use more soft power than hard power abroad". The words about "soft power abroad" mean that he intends to make the relationship with Russia better. His issues won him the respect of the Russians. He wants to withdraw the troops from Iraq. Russia didn't approve this war, that's why the decision to restore the peace is important. Obama wants to discuss and implement nuclear disarmament. The Russian government is working towards this also, because the nuclear weapons left from the Cold War are dangerous. Both ideas will have Russia and America working together as a team and not as an enemy.

In conclusion both potential Presidents will impact Russia and hopefully both of them will be working with Russia on their team. Though we have a lot snow in my country, our souls are not frozen. We really want to be friends with America. I hope, in the future there will be only positive changes.