The purpose of this study was to measure American attitudes toward communism in the post-Cold War era (1990-to present) and see if the legacy of negative media messages has influenced the formation of attitudes. The researcher attempted to explore current attitudes toward communism and look for differences in perception of East-West relations among those Americans who were raised during the Cold War and those who grew up at the end of the Cold War.The researcher interviewed forty-five individuals in three age groups to meet the goals of the study. Three factors have emerged from the study.Factor 1 is favorable toward Russia and is tolerant toward communism. Factor 2 maintains the Cold War enemy image of communism; therefore, it has negative attitude toward communism and Russians. Factor 3 dislikes communism as a working political system, but doesn't perceive it as a threat, and holds favorable attitude toward Russians. Overall, all factors believed that relations are improving between the U.S. and Russia.The educational levels of each group revealed differences in their attitudes toward communism/Russia. The most educated factor was Factor 1, the most tolerant factor. / Department of Journalism

Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Feb 11, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.