Editing Anti-Russian sentiment (section)

==History in Europe==
Anti-Russian sentiment in Europe has a long history, dating back several centuries. Initially, it was largely driven by religious and cultural differences, as well as Russia's expansionist policies.<ref name="mpaul2001">{{Cite journal |last=Paul |first=C. Michael |year=2001 |title=Western Negative Perceptions of Russia: 'The Cold War Mentality' Over Five Hundred Years |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41887071 |journal=International Social Science Review |volume=76 |issue=3/4 |pages=103–121 |jstor=41887071}}</ref>{{rp|114–115}} This sentiment has evolved over time, but the underlying themes of perceived barbarism, imperialism, and cultural inferiority have remained constant.<ref name="mpaul2001" />{{rp|104–105}}

=== 15th to 17th century ===
Negative views of Russia in Europe began to take shape in the 15th century during the period of Russian expansion into non-Russian lands under [[Ivan III of Russia|Ivan III]]. Russia's campaigns against Poland-Lithuania, Livonian cities, and Swedish-held Finland marked the beginning of a perception of Russia as a threat. During this era, Russia was often portrayed as a barbaric, un-Christian, and imperialistic nation by its European adversaries.<ref name="mpaul2001" />{{rp|104–105}} Michael C. Paul argued that [[Swedish–Novgorodian Wars|the crusades of the 13th century]] against Russian Christian cities like Novgorod and Pskov may highlight even more deeply rooted religious and cultural animosity.<ref name="mpaul2001" />{{rp|106}}

During the [[Livonian War]] (1558&ndash;83), European powers, particularly Poland-Lithuania and the Livonian German cities, intensified their negative perception of Russia. They imposed embargoes on war supplies to Russia, fearing the possibility of it receiving military supplies from England, which had an [[Muscovy Company|active trade mission in Russia]]. [[Elizabeth I#Russia|Queen Elizabeth]] denied the accusations.<ref name="mpaul2001" />{{rp|106–107}}

Contemporaries described the [[Tsardom of Russia]] and early [[Russian Empire]] as a barbaric enemy of Christianity. Accounts by Western travelers like Austrian Ambassador [[Sigismund von Herberstein]] and English Ambassador [[Giles Fletcher, the Elder|Giles Fletcher]] in the 16th century portrayed Russia in a negative light, focusing on aspects like superstition, brutality, and backwardness. Negative views persisted into the 17th and 18th centuries, with Western observers continuing to highlight aspects like superstition, drunkenness, and barbaric practices in Russian society. Notable figures like Captain John Perry and French travelers [[Jacques Margeret]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche|Jean Chappe d'Auteroche]] contributed to these perceptions, often comparing Russian society unfavorably with Western standards.<ref name="mpaul2001" />{{rp|107–109}}
=== 18th and 19th centuries ===
[[File:March of Russian barbarity and cholera epidemic to Europe (French allegory).PNG|thumb|upright=1.35|1831 French engraving "Barbarism and Cholera enter Europe. Polish people fight, the powers make the protocols and France..." by [[Denis Auguste Marie Raffet]], depicting Russian suppression of the [[November Uprising]] in Poland in 1831.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lloyd S. Kramer |title=Lafayette in Two Worlds: Public Cultures and Personal Identities in an Age of Revolutions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7uQ6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT283 |year=2000|page=283|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807862674}}</ref>]]
[[File:Puck magazine, 1903 April 22.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A 1903 [[Puck (magazine)|Puck]] llustration depicting a large bear wearing a crown labeled "Russia" clutching a diminutive [[Émile Loubet]] labeled "France" as an explosion sends clouds of smoke labeled "Balkan Trouble" billowing skyward]]

On 19 October 1797, the [[French Directory]] received a document from a Polish general, [[Michał Sokolnicki]], entitled "Aperçu sur la Russie". This forgery is known as the so-called "[[The Will of Peter the Great]]" and was first published in October 1812, during the [[Napoleonic wars]], in Charles Louis-Lesur's much-read ''Des progrès de la puissance russe'': this was at the behest of [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]], who ordered a series of articles to be published showing that "Europe is inevitably in the process of becoming booty for Russia".<ref>{{cite book|last=Neumann|first=Iver B.|chapter=Europe's post-Cold War memory of Russia: cui bono?|title=Memory and power in post-war Europe: studies in the presence of the past |editor-first=Jan-Werner |editor-last=Müller|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2002|page=132|isbn=978-0-5210-0070-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOsSG0K8hCYC&pg=PA132}}</ref><ref name=mcnally>{{cite journal|last=McNally|first=Raymond T.|title=The Origins of Russophobia in France: 1812–1830|journal=American Slavic and East European Review|volume=17|issue=2|pages=173–189|date=April 1958 |doi=10.2307/3004165|jstor=3004165}}</ref> Subsequent to the Napoleonic wars, propaganda against Russia was continued by Napoleon's former confessor, [[Dominique-Georges-Frédéric Dufour de Pradt|Dominique Georges-Frédéric de Pradt]], who in a series of books portrayed Russia as a power-grasping "barbaric" power hungry to conquer Europe.{{sfnp|Neumann|2002|p=133}} With reference to Russia's new constitutional laws in 1811 the [[Savoy]]ard philosopher [[Joseph de Maistre]] wrote the now famous statement: "Every nation gets the government it deserves" ("Toute nation a le gouvernement qu'elle mérite").<ref name="Latham1906">{{cite book|last=Latham|first=Edward|title=Famous Sayings and Their Authors: A Collection of Historical Sayings in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Latin |url=https://archive.org/details/famoussayingsan00lathgoog|year=1906|publisher=Swan Sonnenschein|page=[https://archive.org/details/famoussayingsan00lathgoog/page/n200 181]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus|date=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8yVAC8CtO4C|publisher=Little Brown & Company|isbn=9780316735872}}</ref>

Beginning from 1815 and lasting roughly until 1840, British commentators began criticizing the perceived conservatism of the Russian state and its resistance to reform efforts.<ref name="RussophobiaInGB">{{cite book|author1=John Howes Gleason|title=The Genesis of Russophobia in Great Britain: A Study of the Interaction of Policy and Opinion|date=5 February 1950|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=9780674281097|pages=16–56|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.16696 |language=English}}</ref> In 1836, [[The Westminster Review]] attributed growth of British navy to "Ministers [that] are smitten with the epidemic disease of Russo-phobia".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Westminster Review, Volume 25 |date=April–July 1836 |publisher=Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy |page=276 |chapter=Art. XII. State of politics in 1836 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SOJMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA276}}</ref> However, Russophobia in Britain for the rest of the 19th century was primarily related to British fears that the [[Russian conquest of Central Asia]] was a precursor to an attack on [[British Raj|British-colonized India]]. These fears led to the "[[Great Game]]", a series of political and diplomatic confrontations between Britain and Russia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref>Barbara Jelavich, ''St. Petersburg and Moscow: Tsarist and Soviet Foreign Policy, 1814–1974'' (1974) p. 200</ref>

In 1843 the [[Marquis de Custine]] published his hugely successful 1800-page, four-volume travelogue ''[[La Russie en 1839]]''. Custine's scathing narrative reran what were by now clichés which presented Russia as a place where "the veneer of European civilization was too thin to be credible". Such was its huge success that several official and pirated editions quickly followed, as well as condensed versions and translations in German, Dutch, and English. By 1846 approximately 200 thousand copies had been sold.<ref>Fisher, David C. "Russia and the Crystal Palace 1851" in ''Britain, the Empire, and the World at the Great Exhibition of 1851'' ed. Jeffery A. Auerbach & Peter H. Hoffenberg. Ashgate, 2008: pp. 123–124.</ref>

In 1867, [[Fyodor Tyutchev]], a Russian poet, diplomat and member of [[His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery]], introduced the actual term of "russophobia" in a letter to his daughter Anna Aksakova on 20 September 1867,{{citation needed|date=July 2022|reason=Claims that the term was introduced three decades after its use been documented in The Westminster Review. Might be referring to use in Russian – a source needed.}} where he applied it to a number of pro-Western [[Liberalism in Russia|Russian liberals]] who, pretending that they were merely following their [[Liberalism|liberal]] principles, developed a negative attitude towards their own country and always stood on a pro-Western and anti-Russian position, regardless of any changes in the Russian society and having a blind eye on any violations of these principles in the West, "violations in the sphere of justice, morality, and even civilization". He put the emphasis on the [[irrationality]] of this sentiment.<ref name="Shirinyants">Ширинянц А.А., Мырикова А.В. «Внутренняя» русофобия и «польский вопрос» в России XIX в. Проблемный анализ и государственно-управленческое проектирование. № 1 (39) / том 8 / 2015. С. 16</ref> Tyutchev saw Western anti-Russian sentiment as the result of misunderstanding caused by [[East–West dichotomy|civilizational differences between East and West]].<ref>Ширинянц А.А., Мырикова А.В. «Внутренняя» русофобия и «польский вопрос» в России XIX в. Проблемный анализ и государственно-управленческое проектирование. № 1 (39) / том 8 / 2015. С. 15</ref>

=== German atrocities in World War II ===
{{See also|Generalplan Ost|Consequences of Nazism|German war crimes against Soviet civilians|World War II casualties of the Soviet Union}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B01718, Ausstellung "Planung und Aufbau im Osten".jpg|thumb|[[Rudolf Hess]], [[Heinrich Himmler]] and [[Reinhard Heydrich]] listening to [[Konrad Meyer]] at a ''[[Generalplan Ost]]'' exhibition, 20 March 1941.]]

[[Adolf Hitler]] and the [[Nazi Party]] regarded [[Slavic people]]s (especially Poles and [[East Slavs]]) as non-Aryan ''[[Untermenschen]]'' (subhumans).<ref>{{cite book|last=Longerich|first=Peter|title=Holocaust: The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews |url=https://archive.org/details/holocaustnaziper00long | url-access = limited|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-280436-5|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford; New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/holocaustnaziper00long/page/n255 241]}}</ref> As early as 1925, Hitler suggested in ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' that the German people needed ''[[Lebensraum]]'' ("living space") to achieve German expansion eastwards (''[[Drang nach Osten]]'') at the expense of the inferior Slavs. Hitler believed that "the organization of a Russian state formation was not the result of the political abilities of the Slavs in Russia, but only a wonderful example of the state-forming efficacity of the German element in an inferior race."<ref>Adolf Hitler, ''Mein Kampf'', 1925</ref>

After the [[invasion of the Soviet Union]], Hitler expressed his plans for the Slavs:

{{blockquote|As for the ridiculous hundred million Slavs, we will mold the best of them as we see fit, and we will isolate the rest of them in their pig-styes; and anyone who talks about cherishing the local inhabitants and civilizing them, goes straight off into a concentration camp!<ref>{{cite book|author1=H. R. Trevor-Roper|author2=Gerhard L. Weinberg|title=Hitler's Table Talk 1941–1944: Secret Conversations|date=2013|publisher=Enigma Books|isbn=978-1-936274-93-2|page=466}}</ref>}}

Plans to eliminate Russians and other Slavs from Soviet territory to allow German settlement included starvation. American historian [[Timothy D. Snyder]] maintains that there were 4.2 million victims of the German [[Hunger Plan]] in the Soviet Union, "largely Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians," including 3.1 million [[Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs|Soviet POWs]] and 1.0 million civilian deaths in the [[Siege of Leningrad]].<ref name="Snyder 2010 p. 411">Snyder (2010), ''Bloodlands,''p. 411. Snyder states "4.2 million Soviet citizens starved by the German occupiers"</ref> According to Snyder, Hitler intended eventually to exterminate up to 45 million Slavs by planned famine as part of ''[[Generalplan Ost]]''.<ref>Snyder (2010), ''Bloodlands,'' p. 160</ref>

Influenced by the guidelines, in a directive sent out to the troops under his command, General [[Erich Hoepner]] of the [[4th Panzer Army]] stated:
{{blockquote|The war against Russia is an important chapter in the German nation's struggle for existence. It is the old battle of the Germanic against the Slavic people, of the defense of European culture against Muscovite-Asiatic inundation and the repulse of [[Jewish Bolshevism]]. The objective of this battle must be the demolition of present-day Russia and must, therefore, be conducted with unprecedented severity. Every military action must be guided in planning and execution by an iron resolution to exterminate the enemy remorselessly and totally. In particular, no adherents of the contemporary Russian Bolshevik system are to be spared.<ref>{{cite book|last=Burleigh|first=Michael|title=The Third Reich: A New History|year=2001|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-330-48757-3|page=521}}</ref>}}

=== Cold War ===
{{See also|Soviet Union–United States relations}}
Russophobic stereotypes of an illiberal tradition were also favored by Cold War historiographers, even as scholars of early Russia debunked such essentialist notions.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2001|title=Russophobia and the American Politics of Russian History|journal=Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History|language=en|volume=2|issue=3|pages=465–467|doi=10.1353/kri.2008.0106|issn=1538-5000|last1=David-Fox|first1=Michael|last2=Holquist|first2=Peter.|last3=Poe|first3=Marshall.}}</ref>

Widely criticized for being antisemitic and extremist nationalistic, [[Igor Shafarevich|Igor Shafarevich's]] 1981 work ''Russophobia''<ref>{{cite book|author=Shafarevich, Igor|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA335121.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207001755/http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA335121|url-status=live|archive-date=7 February 2016|title=Russophobia|date=1990|publisher=Joint Publications Research Service}}</ref> blamed "Jews seeking world rule" for alleged "vast conspiracy against Russia and all mankind" and seeking destruction of Russia through adoption of a Western-style democracy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunlop |first1=John |title=The 'sad case' of Igor Shafarevich |journal=East European Jewish Affairs |date=1994 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=19–30|doi=10.1080/13501679408577760 }}</ref>

=== After 1989 ===
{{Further|topic=Russia-United States relations|Russia–United States relations#The dissolution of the Soviet Union through Yeltsin's terms (1991–99)|Russia–United States relations#Putin and George W. Bush: 2001–2009|label1=during 1991–1999|label2=during 2001–2009}}
{{See also|#United States}}

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the collapse of Communism, anti-Russian sentiment in the United States was at an all-time low. However, it has experienced a resurgence during the late 1990s due to Russia's opposition to the enlargement of NATO. According to a [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] poll, 59% of surveyed Americans viewed Russia negatively in 1999, compared to 25% in 1991.<ref name="gallupht2022">{{cite web|title=Russia – Gallup Historical Trends|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/1642/russia.aspx|website=Gallup |date=21 February 2007 |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402113813/https://news.gallup.com/poll/1642/russia.aspx |archive-date=2 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Anatol Lieven]] considered the Western commentary on the [[Second Chechen War]] and a Russian reaction to [[Russia–NATO relations#Opposition to NATO's enlargement|eastward NATO enlargement]] to be the main cause of growing Russophobia in the 90s. Condemning the brutality of the Russian army and an exaggerated fear of NATO, he argued that the influence of the {{section link||Cold War}} elites and ethnic lobbies, coupled with [[#18th and 19th centuries|19th century stereotypes about Russian expansionism]] led Western journalists and intellectuals to drop professional standards and engage in propaganda, spreading Russophobia and national hatred.<ref name="carnegie2001">{{cite web|last1=Lieven|first1=Anatol |author1-link=Anatol Lieven|title=Against Russophobia|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2001/01/against-russophobia?lang=en|website=World Policy Journal|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517170408/https://carnegieendowment.org/2001/01/01/against-russophobia-pub-626 |archive-date=17 May 2021|date=1 January 2001 |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2007, David Johnson, founder of the [[Johnson's Russia List]], said in interview to the [[Moscow News]]: "I am sympathetic to the view that these days Putin and Russia are perhaps getting too dark a portrayal in most Western media. Or at least that critical views need to be supplemented with other kinds of information and analysis. An openness to different views is still warranted."<ref>[http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/2007-93-1.cfm Interview with David Johnson] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211191502/http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/2007-93-1.cfm |date=11 February 2009 }} by the [[Moscow News]], April 2007</ref> [[California]]-based [[international relations]] scholar [[Andrei Tsygankov]] has remarked that anti-Russian political rhetoric coming from [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] circles has received wide echo in American mainstream media, asserting that "Russophobia's revival is indicative of the fear shared by some U.S. and European politicians that their grand plans to control the world's most precious resources and geostrategic sites may not succeed if Russia's economic and political recovery continues."<ref name = "Tsygankov&nbsp;— May 2008">Tsygankov, Andrei. [http://www.atlantic-community.org/index/Open_Think_Tank_Article/The_Russophobia_Card "The Russophobia Card".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010224144/http://www.atlantic-community.org/index/Open_Think_Tank_Article/The_Russophobia_Card |date=10 October 2008 }} Atlantic Community. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2009.</ref> In contrast, [[Krystyna Kurczab-Redlich]] and some other reporters active in [[Chechnya]] alarmed already in early 2000s that Putin's true nature and intentions have been exposed by the Russian atrocities during the [[Second Chechen War]] as by no means resembling those of a Western democrat. It was, however, convenient for the Western elites to brand these reports as Russophobic and disregard them, in spite of such reports being delivered also by [[Anna Politkovskaya]], a Russian journalist and [[human rights activist]], later assassinated.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/swiat/artykuly/8492369,kurczab-redlich-putin-rosja-wywiad.html.amp | title=Krystyna Kurczab-Redlich: Przezywano mnie rusofobką, ale to minęło &#91;WYWIAD RIGAMONTI&#93; – GazetaPrawna.pl | date=15 July 2022 }}</ref><ref name="Anna Politkovskaya">[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1263184/Anna-Politkovskaya Anna Politkovskaya] ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''</ref> The first among these views has ultimately suffered utter discreditation in a humiliating manner after 2014, primarily because it was inherently flawed as it focused exclusively on the fantastic motivations behind anti-Russian sentiment in Western Europe, while entirely disregarding the precisely specified reasons of negative views of Russia in Central and Eastern Europe which stem in turn from real experience and knowledge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/05/myths-and-misconceptions-debate-russia|title=Myths and misconceptions in the debate on Russia|date=13 May 2021|website=Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/07/myths-and-misconceptions-around-russian-military-intent|title=Myths and misconceptions around Russian military intent|date=14 July 2022|website=Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/western-europe-listen-to-the-baltic-countries-that-know-russia-best-ukraine-poland/|title='We told you so!' How the West didn't listen to the countries that know Russia best|date=9 March 2022}}</ref>

In October 2004, the [[Gallup Poll|International Gallup Organization]] announced that according to its poll, anti-Russia sentiment remained fairly strong throughout Europe and the West in general. It found that Russia was the least popular [[Group of Eight|G-8]] country globally. Overall, the percentage of respondents with a positive view of Russia was only 31%.<ref name="HelsSan">''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'', 11 October 2004, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311034013/http://www.hs.fi/english/article/International%2Bpoll%2BAnti-Russian%2Bsentiment%2Bruns%2Bvery%2Bstrong%2Bin%2BFinland/1076154202275 International poll: Anti-Russian sentiment runs very strong in Finland. Only Kosovo has more negative attitude]</ref>

Anti-Russian sentiment in the United States and Western European countries [[Russian reset|decreased]] during the [[presidency of Dmitry Medvedev]], with about half of respondents in US, UK, Germany, Spain and France having positive views of Russia in 2011. It began to increase again after 2012.<ref name="pew202014nations"/> The Transatlantic Trends 2012 Report indicated that "views of Russia turned from favorable to unfavorable on both sides of the Atlantic", noting that most Americans and Europeans, as well as many Russians, said that they were not confident that the election results expressed the will of voters.<ref name="gmfus.org">{{cite web|url=http://trends.gmfus.org/survey-respondents-views-on-other-countries-shift-or-remain-static/|title=Survey: Respondents' Views on Other Countries Shift or Remain Static|work=Transatlantic Trends|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214005536/http://trends.gmfus.org/survey-respondents-views-on-other-countries-shift-or-remain-static/|archive-date=14 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Euromaidan in Prague 2014-03-02 (11).JPG|thumb|[[Vladimir Putin]]'s policies have significantly contributed to the growth of anti-Russian sentiment in Europe]]
Attitudes towards Russia in most countries worsened considerably following Russia's [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexation of Crimea]], the subsequent fomenting of the [[2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine]] and its intervention in the resulting [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|War in Donbas]]. From 2013 to 2014, the median negative attitudes in Europe rose from 54% to 75%, and from 43% to 72% in the United States. Negative attitudes also rose compared to 2013 throughout the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa.<ref name="pew-attitudes-2014">{{cite web|title=Russia's Global Image Negative amid Crisis in Ukraine|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/07/09/russias-global-image-negative-amid-crisis-in-ukraine/|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=1 April 2015|date=9 July 2014}}</ref>

According to political scientist Peter Schulze, the accusations of collusion with Trump campaign, coupled with the [[criminal case of Lisa F.]], which was reported in Germany as an instance of Russia's [[hybrid war]], sparked fears that the [[Kremlin]] could meddle in German campaigns as well, resulting in growth of anti-Russian sentiment in Germany after 2016.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schulze |first1=Peter |title=Core Europe and Greater Eurasia: A Roadmap for the Future |date=17 August 2017 |publisher=Campus Verlag |location=Frankfurt/New York |isbn=9783593507842 |pages=117–118}}</ref>

By the summer of 2020, majority of Western nations had unfavorable views of Russia, with the exception of Italy, which was attributed by [[Pew Research Center]] to a delivery of medical aid by Moscow early during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|pandemic]].<ref name="pew202014nations" />

85% of Americans polled by Gallup between 1 and 17 February 2022 had an unfavorable view of Russia.<ref name="gallupht2022" />

===2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine===
[[File:We Stand with Ukraine 2022 Helsinki - Finland (51905397311).jpg|thumb|[[Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine]] in Helsinki, Finland, 26 February 2022]]
There was a sharp uptick in manifestations of anti-Russian sentiment after the beginning of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]];<ref>{{cite news|last=Beardsworth|first=James|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/04/russians-abroad-blamed-for-a-regime-they-sought-to-escape-a76762|title=Russians Abroad: Blamed for a Regime They Sought to Escape|work=[[The Moscow Times]]|date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306231213/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/04/russians-abroad-blamed-for-a-regime-they-sought-to-escape-a76762 |archive-date=6 March 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Floudas|first=Demetrius A.|date=14 March 2022|title=Ukraine-Russia conflict: 'Forced to take sides?' Interview|work=BBC TV|type=Video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpPXnOLz87E |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315154725/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpPXnOLz87E |archive-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> following the start of the invasion, anti-Russian sentiment soared across the Western world.<ref name="gmfus.org" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Floudas|first=Demetrius A.|date=8 March 2022|title=Ukraine War: Russians in Britain are facing some difficult choices|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-60664159#selection-963.0-963.52 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220309224343/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-60664159#selection-963.0-963.52 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |access-date=11 March 2022|website=BBC News|type=Interview}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Russophobia in US nears Cold War levels, 80% see Russia as enemy: Poll|url=https://www.wionews.com/world/russophobia-in-us-nears-cold-war-levels-80-see-russia-as-enemy-poll-456748 |access-date=10 March 2022|website=[[WION]]|date=26 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Russian-owned businesses in US face discrimination, vandalism over Ukraine invasion|url=https://www.fox6now.com/news/russian-owned-businesses-in-us-face-discrimination-vandalism-over-ukraine-invasion.amp |access-date=14 March 2022|website=Fox 6 News Milwaukee}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lourgos|first=Angie Leventis|title=Russian Tea Time restaurant in downtown Chicago was founded by Ukrainians. Now it faces misplaced backlash.|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-russian-tea-time-ukraine-20220310-bzsgsu4stjhqrpmq77oqmq4af4-story.html |access-date=14 March 2022|website=Chicago Tribune|date=10 March 2022 }}</ref> Since the invasion commenced, ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking immigrants from [[post-Soviet states]] are globally reporting rising instances of open hostility and discrimination towards them.<ref name="wapo2022hostility">{{cite news|title=As Ukraine war intensifies, some Russian speakers far from Moscow are feeling hostility|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/03/anti-russian-sentiment-us/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=3 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="wapo2022childrenenemies">{{Cite news|title=Anti-Russian hate in Europe is making chefs and school children out to be enemies|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/07/antirussian-hate-putin-europe/ |access-date=28 March 2022|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>  This hostility is not just towards Russian people; it has also been seen directed towards businesses as well.<ref>{{cite news|last=Matusek|first=Sarah|title=Russian Americans face misdirected blame for war in Ukraine|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2022/0310/Russian-Americans-face-misdirected-blame-for-war-in-Ukraine|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor|The Monitor]]|date=10 March 2022}}</ref>

Several EU countries, such as Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states, have suspended granting visas to Russian citizens,<ref>{{cite news |title=EU split on visa ban for Russians |url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-split-on-visa-ban-for-russians/a-62964726 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=29 August 2022}}</ref> complicating their [[Russian emigration during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|emigration from Russia]].<ref>{{cite web|date=5 March 2022|title='Scared to stay': Why some rushed to leave Russia after war|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/5/scared-to-stay-why-some-rushed-to-leave-russia-after-war|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=9 April 2022|work=Al Jazeera|archive-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409121702/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/5/scared-to-stay-why-some-rushed-to-leave-russia-after-war|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the EU directive from 2022, member states should not accept visa applications from Russians in a third country.<ref>{{cite news |last=Foltynova |first=Kristyna |date=13 October 2022 |title=Closing Doors: How Europe Is Restricting Russians From Traveling |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-european-union-visas-travel-ukraine-invasion/32080584.html}}</ref>

A "pervasive climate of distrust" towards Russian passport holders in Europe and rejections of [[bank account]] applications because of nationality were reported.<ref name="reuters22ruistoxic">{{cite web|last1=Ridley|first1=Kirstin|author2=Neghaiwi, Brenna Hughes|author3=Kaye, Danielle|title=Sanctioned or not, Russians abroad find their money is 'toxic'|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sanctioned-or-not-russians-abroad-find-their-money-is-toxic-2022-03-30/|website=Reuters |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220330122624/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sanctioned-or-not-russians-abroad-find-their-money-is-toxic-2022-03-30/ |archive-date=30 March 2022|date=30 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> 
United Kingdom limited how much Russian nationals are allowed to save on bank accounts. The banking industry considered the restriction to violate UK equality laws, which forbid discrimination by nationality.<ref name="tg22bottarodepositsban">{{cite web|last1=Bottaro|first1=Guilia |title=Ban on Russian bank deposits over £50,000 is illegal, warn finance chiefs|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/31/ban-russian-bank-deposits-50000-illegal-warn-finance-chiefs/|website=The Telegraph |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220401000651/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/31/ban-russian-bank-deposits-50000-illegal-warn-finance-chiefs/ |archive-date=1 April 2022|date=31 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Leonid Gozman]] called European restrictions discriminatory and said that they harmed dissidents who were forced to leave Russia, leaving them without means to survive.<ref name="fp22gozmanrestrictions">{{cite web|last1=Gozman|first1=Leonid |author1-link=Leonid Gozman|title=Sanctions Should Punish Putin, Not His Opponents|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/23/russia-sanctions-dissidents/|website=Foreign Policy |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220523161624/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/23/russia-sanctions-dissidents/ |archive-date=23 May 2022|date=23 May 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Outrage was caused by pro-war demonstrations held in Athens, Berlin, Dublin, Hanover, Frankfurt and Limassol, consisting of "vehicles emblazoned with the pro-war [[Z (military symbol)|Z symbol]] and marches attended by hundreds of flag-waving nationalists". Experts surveyed by ''[[The Times]]'' said that the rallies were likely coordinated by the Kremlin via the soft power [[Rossotrudnichestvo]] agency, stressing that a "bottom-up element" of support for Russia also exists.<ref name="times22eudemos">{{cite web|last1=Parker|first1=Charlie|title=Kremlin 'is behind pro-Russian protests in Europe'|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/kremlin-is-behind-pro-russian-protests-in-europe-9gj27s8g5|website=The Times |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220416142613/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kremlin-is-behind-pro-russian-protests-in-europe-9gj27s8g5 |archive-date=16 April 2022|date=14 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By 2023, the most negative perception of Russia was in Ukraine (net negative 79%), followed by Portugal with 69%, Japan with 68%, and Poland with 68%, according to the 2023 Democracy Perception Index.<ref name="DPI 2023">{{cite web |title=Global democracy poll: Western support for Ukraine holds, but democracy at home is under pressure |agency=[[Alliance of Democracies]] |date=10 May 2023 |url=https://www.allianceofdemocracies.org/initiatives/the-copenhagen-democracy-summit/dpi-2023/ |access-date=13 April 2024 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209192303/https://www.allianceofdemocracies.org/initiatives/the-copenhagen-democracy-summit/dpi-2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 6 February 2025, Czech President [[Petr Pavel]] signed a bill that prohibits Russian nationals from obtaining Czech citizenship, <ref name="united24media-czech"/> even if they have lived in the [[Czech Republic]] for a long time, which critics say is discriminatory and contrary to [[European values]]. Some European countries, such as the [[Netherlands]], have taken the exact opposite step due to the war in Ukraine, allowing Russians living in the Netherlands to obtain Dutch citizenship without having to travel to Russia and renounce their Russian citizenship.<ref name="balkaninsight-czech"/>