The following is an overview of Russia's official reactions to Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. Presidential election. The overall tone of the comments displayed optimism and hope for a genuine reset of U.S.-Russia relations under a Trump presidency:
Cartoon Commentary On The U.S. Elections
Ria.ru, November 9, 2016.
Trump is the new U.S. President.
Vitaly Podvitsky, Ria.ru, November 9, 2016
Russia is ready to reset U.S.-Russia relations.
The cartoon refers to an embarrassing incident. On March 6, 2009, in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a red button (see below) with the English word "RESET" and the Roman alphabet's transliteration of the Russian Cyrillic word "PEREGRUZKA". The only problem was that "Peregruzka" means "overload", while reset should have been "Perezagruzka". The cartoonis Podvitsky, corrects Clinton's button, by adding in Cyrillic "3A (i.e. za)", transforming it into the correct word "Perezagruzka." He sought to convey that Russia is ready to work with Trump in resetting relations rather than overloading them.
Putin Congratulates Trump: Moscow And Washington Can Establish A Constructive Dialogue Based On The Principles Of Equality
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated president elect Donald Trump on his victory. The Kremlin reported that, in his message, Putin said that he hopes to work together with Trump to extricate Russian-U.S. relations from their current crisis, resolve issues on the international agenda, and seek effective responses to global security challenges. Putin was also confident that Moscow and Washington can establish a constructive dialogue based on the principles of equality and mutual respect.
(Kremlin.ru, November 9)
Talking to journalists, Putin commented: "We heard Trump's statements regarding reestablishing the U.S.-Russia relations. We realize this won't be an easy path forward taking into the consideration the degradation in our relations, which we deeply regret. As I've said many times before - that's not our fault". Putin added that Moscow wants to restore the full scale of good relations with Washington.
(Ria.ru, November 9)
Presidential Spokesperson Peskov: Dialogue Rather Than Confrontation With The U.S.
Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Trump's victory does not mean that all the contentious moments in the bilateral relations will immediately disappear: "It's stupid to think that way. The main thing is to have the political will and desire to settle those contentious moments though dialogue rather than through confrontation or absurd intimidations"
(Ria.ru, November 9)
Twitter.com/Sandy_mustache, November 9, 2016.
The Russian opposition Twitter account @Sandy_mustache portrays Peskov combed a la Trump.
Putin's Adviser, Glazyev: 'Clinton Was A Symbol Of A World War, Trump May Alter The Situation'
Putin's adviser, Sergey Glazyev, said:" The reset in Russian-American relations is inevitable. Americans have two choices: either a world war or an agreement on a multi-polar world. Clinton was a symbol of a world war, Trump may alter the situation."
(Lenta.ru, November 9)
Pushkov Tweet Storm: 'Trump Is Mainly An Unknown. But He Represents A Chance For The U.S. And The World'
Senator and former chair of the International Affairs Committee of the State Duma, Aleksey Pushkov, (@Alexey_Pushkov) wrote in his twitter account on November 8: "The U.S. ruling elites and the mass media were trying to scare everyone with Trump. But many fear Clinton and are convinced: Hillary means war. Boomerang effect."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, November 8, 2016)
Pushkov also posted: "Many in the U.S. wanted to put an end to status quo embodied by Clinton. Trump is largely an unknown. But he represents a chance for the US and the world. "
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, November 9, 2016)
Pushkov then tweeted: "The old Republican guard has lost - all those "always in the past" Romneys and McCains, who were in bed with Clinton and tried to poison Trump."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, November 9, 2016)
Pushkov commented: "The ruling U.S. elites will try to tamper Trump 's attempts to recover relations with Putin. All those European and NATO leaders, who [feel] animosity towards Russia. The battle is not finished yet".
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, November 9, 2016)
He also wrote: "The battle is not finished yet: the U.S. ruling elites will try to turn Trump into Clinton's political clone. They won't succeed: [Trump and Hillary] have too different haircut [styles]."
(Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, November 9, 2016)
Russian Duma Speaker Volodin: 'The Winner Is A Candidate Who Favored Dialogue With Russia'
Commenting on Trump's victory, Russian Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said: "The winner is a candidate who favored dialogue with Russia and resolving issues which have accumulated between our countries. For that reason we hope he will fulfill his promises and intentions. Let's wait and see whether the problems, created by the outgoing [Obama] administration, will disappear when this administration and those politicians go... This makes us hope that our relations will be of different character. They will be more respectful, more constructive- first and foremost on the US' part, since Russia has always demonstrated its desire to build constructive relations based on respect for American interests."
(Ria.ru, November 9)
Federation Council Speaker Matviyenko: 'Americans... Have Not Been Affected By Clinton's... Anti-Russian Rhetoric'
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, said: "In spite of administrative resources, in spite of Obama's support for Clinton, Trump won. This means that Americans are disenchanted with Obama's foreign policy. Americans, who made their decision, did not respond to Clinton's highly visible anti-Russian rhetoric, and pinned their hopes for change on Trump".
The Speaker also said: "Judging by Mr. Trump's election campaign rhetoric, one may express the hope, a cautious hope so far, that the U.S. foreign policy will change and that the person who is not burdened with the previous administration's decisions will be a realist, a pragmatist. There is a hope that constructive cooperation between Russia and the US will be built... There is a hope that it will be possible to steer relations out of the crisis... American people and the people of Russia are interested in the mutually beneficial Russian-U.S. relations... We are certainly interested in turning this page in tense relations between our two countries... There is hope, and we will make every effort to transition to this style of relations with the U.S."
(Ria.ru, November 9; Tass.com, November 9)
Head Of Federation Council Committee For International Affairs Kosachev: 'The Chances Of Renewal In All Areas, Including Russia, Are Obvious'
Head of Russia's Federation Council Committee for International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev commented: "There is some hope for Russian-U.S. relations, though Trump may be stalled by the conservatives in Congress...In any case, this is better than the hopelessness of a Clinton America."
Kosachev also stated: "The chances of renewal in all areas, including Russia, are obvious. I believe that Russia should send the appropriate signals to make sure that the new U.S. leader realizes that we are fully committed to the dialogue, and, most importantly, we want to be heeded." He then stressed that Moscow does not have any "desire to revive the Cold War or some kind of empire seeking to challenge the U.S." However, Kosachev fears that Trump may have problems in choosing the policy towards Russia. "The pressure on the new U.S. president may be exerted by U.S. allies from the outside, above all, in Europe where the sentiment is somewhere between panic and disappointment," Kosachev said.
(Tass.com, November 9)
Head of the Federation Council Rules Committee Tyulpanov: '[Americans] Have Grown Tired Of The Excessive Aggression By The White House'
The chairman of the Federation Council's Rules Committee, Vadim Tyulpanov, said: "[Americans] have grown tired of the excessive aggression by the White House... The public can see that the current policy of U.S. authorities is based on lies and a distortion of facts... Donald Trump's success means that U.S. citizens want their country's authorities to adopt a different domestic and foreign policy."
(Tass.com, November 9)
Member Of The Duma's International Committee, Vitaly Milonov: 'Hillary [Clinton] Is Not That Young And She Was A Political Nominee Of The Failure Obama'
Member of the State Duma's International Committee, Vitaly Milonov, said: "Hillary is not that young and she was the political replacement for the failure Obama, who did not justify the expectations. Now she'd better devote time to her family. She's got an old husband, large property. She should leave the experts' domain."
(Lenta.ru, November 9)
The Celebratory Photo
Vedomosti.ru, November 9, 2016.
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and his fellow party members toast Trump's victory.
