In the 1930s, the Soviet Union promoted the concept of “Southern Autonomous State,” an independent state in the South of the United States. As part of this effort, the Soviet Regime invited influential Black figures like Claude McKay and Lovett Fort-Whiteman to visit Moscow to experience “racial harmony” and convince them to join the communist movement. Albeit short-lived, Soviet influence led to the American Communist Party receiving an increase in African American membership in the 1930s.
While the “Southern Autonomous State” campaign was confined to the 1930s, modern-day Russia has revived aspects of this disinformation playbook by exploiting U.S. racial divisions. Most notably, during the 2016 U.S. election interference campaign, Moscow leveraged Black Lives Matter protests to amplify division in U.S. society, sow discord, and discredit American moral superiority using “whataboutism” rhetoric. By exploiting racial tensions and vulnerabilities in U.S. society, both the Soviet Union and Russia have sought to undermine U.S. democratic values.
Racial Issues in Soviet Propaganda
Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union highlighted racial injustice in the United States, seeking to undermine U.S. moral authority on the global stage, illustrate the prevalence of communism over capitalism, and discredit democratic values. For example, in the “Southern Autonomous State” campaign, Russia used posters and cartoons to advocate for the establishment of a “Southern Autonomous State” to save “innocent young negroes” from the “American bourgeoisie.”
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