Putin Looks to Remove American Influences From Russia

Last week the Russian government added one more issue to its growing heap of disputes with the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with government officials in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, on March 25, 2015. Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA-Novosti via AP

Last week the Russian government added one more issue to its growing heap of disputes with the United States.

By pulling the plug on the U.S. sponsored America Center hosted at M. Rudomino All-Russia State Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has subtly moved against the United States.

According to a press release by the U.S. Embassy, the state-controlled library recently terminated the formal agreement for embassy support of the center and announced its intention to replace its American director, taking control of all of the center’s activities.

America Centers (and the smaller version America spaces) are an important worldwide public diplomacy tool for the State Department, most of them housed at institutions of higher learning.

In Moscow, the America Center gave Russian students access to American culture, history, and literature and hosted high-level American visitors like “astronauts, actors, athletes, academics, political figures, and authors,” according to the embassy.

As Putin has tightened his grip on the country's domestic media and intensified the Kremlin's information warfare, anti-Americanism is a fundamental element of his strategy.