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The meeting of Brezhnev and Nixon in Moscow in May 1972 became a turning point in the history of the Cold War, closing an era of tensions and uncertainties. Starting the so-called era of détente between the United States and the USSR, it also launched a genuine cultural turnabout which can be traced in public and private speeches. This cultural turnabout was to end the traditional representation of America in the media. Long awaited and prepared by certain political agents and institutions, as well as numerous representatives of the Soviet propaganda machine, it failed to realize the hopes of the proponents. The gap between the state and society remained and even amplified; contradictions between the expectations of both parties were too numerous. Détente was then destined to fail.