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In a short research to be published on this blog, I want to present to you the specific consumer products, appliances, and model homes at display on the American exhibition in Moscow in 1959, and the role of these (or similar) products as promoters of the American way of life. I will also have a look at the reception of the exhibition, both by the Russian public and the Kremlin.
By combining the analysis of the ideology behind the exhibition with the Soviet reception to it, I hope to give an evaluation of the success of the show as an instrument of American cultural diplomacy. In this regard, the running debate between Nixon and Khrushev is indicative of both American intents and Cold War antagonism.
Although the result of soft power ( the power to attract, through consumer culture in this case) is hard to measure, indicatiors such as public sentiment and subsequent American influence in the Soviet Union can provide an evaluation of the success of this exhibition.