History Main / FakeRussian

* ''Film/{{Snatch}}'' has Rade Šerbedžija, a Croatian actor, playing Boris the Blade, a.k.a. "Boris the sneaking fuckin' Russian". Works in-universe too, as Boris is stated to actually be an Uzbek.

* ''Series/Barry'': Glenn Fleshler and Anthony Carrigan play Chechen mobsters…with Yugoslav names.

* The ''[[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Suite Life on Deck]]'' episode "Das Boots" had Sasha Matryoshka, a Russian junior chess champion played by Cody Kennedy, who's of Russian ancestry, but otherwise American as apple pie.

* Sergei Malatov in ''Series/TheWire'', a Ukrainian played by American Chris Ashworth. His last name isn't even a Ukrainian name. [[spoiler:This is likely intentional, as Malatov is part of an international criminal empire led by "the Greek", and most of the Greek's people are implied to be using fake names and nationalities. At one point the Greek's NumberTwo casually shows another character a whole collection of passports from different countries, all with different names. This tendency towards fake names and nationalities even includes the Greek, who at one point is amused by the fact that the police have no information on him besides [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname his nickname The Greek]]... and he isn't actually Greek.]]

For convenience's sake, this trope covers the whole of the former Soviet Union on its post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII boundaries. Fake Russian ''text'' is TheBackwardsR.

* The "Russian linesman" from the 1966 UsefulNotes/FIFAWorldCup was actually Azeri.

* Parodied in Creator/DaveBarry's column "The Columnist's Caper," a spy-movie pastiche in which two Russian officers named [[FamousNamedForeigner Rasputin Smirnov]] and Joyce Brothers Karamazov Popov take turns frowning at each other while talking about how the Americans must be kept from interfering with their EvilPlan. When Smirnov asks, "Shouldn't we be speaking Russian?", Popov says that [[JustAStupidAccent they should at least have accents]]. The rest of their lines have them doing every accent but a Russian one.

** If "Walter Koenig" sounds more German than Lithuanian to you--Koenig's family were Ashkenazi Jews (like [[YouHaveToHaveJews half the actors]] on the [[Creator/WilliamShatner bridge]] of the [[Creator/LeonardNimoy Enterprise]]), so he had a Germanic name.

** ''Film/TheNewMutants'' has American-born Anglo-Argentine Creator/AnyaTaylorJoy as [[Comicbook/IllyanaRasputin Magik]] (Colossus' sister in the comics).

** German-born actor Creator/WalterGotell played General Gogol in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', ''Film/AViewToAKill'' and ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. He also played Morzeny (probably Russian too) in ''From Russia With Love''. There was also his secretary Rublevitch, played by the Austrian Eva Rueber-Staier.
** American actress Creator/BarbaraBach as Anya Amasova in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', and her fellow KGB agent lover played by Michael billington.

** Creator/RobbieColtrane (Scottish) portrayed Russian Valentin Zukovsky in ''Film/GoldenEye'' and ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. ''[=GoldenEye=]'' features many more of these characters, though Alec Trevelyan has the excuse of explicitly growing up in Great Britain despite having Cossack parents. Natalya Simonova's actress, Creator/IzabellaScorupco, while she grew up and lives in Sweden, is at least Slavic (Polish), but still not Russian. Creator/FamkeJanssen (Dutch) plays the Georgian [[MurderousThighs sadomasochistic assassin]] Xenia Onnatopp. Creator/AlanCumming (Scottish) plays the Russian computer programmer Boris Grishenko. There's also Creator/TchekyKaryo (French of Turkish Sephardic Jewish and Greek descent) as Defense Minister Dmitri Mishkin.

** ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': Far East Russian Lyutsifer Safin is played by Creator/RamiMalek, an American of Egyptian descent. There's also Dr. Obruchev, who's played by Swedish-Danish actor Creator/DavidDencik.

** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' has Ukrainian actress and fluent native-Russian-speaker Creator/OlgaKurylenko (who was born when [[UsefulNotes/UnionOfSovietSocialistRepublics Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country]] then later took French citizenship, with her mother having Russian ancestry) as Camille Montes. It's established that Camille is the daughter of a Bolshoi ballet dancer who married a Bolivian.

** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' features General Orlov (played by British actor Creator/StevenBerkoff), who serves his Fake Russian with a side of Shatner speak and an order of LargeHam (it should be noted, however, that Berkoff's family has some roots in Russia, si it's mitigated). The film also had British actor Paul Hardwick as the Soviet Chairman (who may or may not be UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev).

** German-born actor Creator/WalterGotell played General Gogol in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', ''Film/AViewToAKill''and ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. He also played Morzeny (probably Russian too) in ''From Russia With Love''. There was also his secretary Rublevitch, played by the Austrian Eva Rueber-Staier.

** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' features General Orlov (played by British actor Creator/StevenBerkoff), who serves his Fake Russian with a side of Shatner speak and an order of LargeHam. It should be noted, however, that Berkoff's family has some roots in Russia, si it's mitigated.

* ''Film/JamesBond'' movies:
** Creator/RobbieColtrane (Scottish) portrayed Russian Valentin Zukovsky in ''Film/GoldenEye'' and ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. ''[=GoldenEye=]'' features at least ''five more'' of these characters, though Alec Trevelyan has the excuse of explicitly growing up in Great Britain despite having Cossack parents. Natalya Simonova's actress, Izabella Scorupco, while she grew up and lives in Sweden, is at least Slavic (Polish), but still not Russian. Creator/FamkeJanssen (Dutch) plays the Georgian [[MurderousThighs sadomasochistic assassin]] Xenia Onnatopp. Alan Cumming (Scottish) plays the Russian computer programmer Boris Grishenko.
** Creator/RobertCarlyle (also Scottish) plays Russian terrorist Renard in ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''.
** Creator/JohnRhysDavies takes a break from [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Egyptian]] and [[VideoGame/WingCommander Scottish]] characters to play Russian General Leonid Pushkin in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. He's actually Welsh. And not in fact [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings a Dwarf]] (for one thing, he's actually 6'1").
** American actress Barbara Bach as XXX in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''.
** German born actor Creator/WalterGotell plays General Gogol in a number of the films. He plays Morzeny (also Russian) in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''. ''From Russia With Love'' also features Tatiana Romanova played by the Italian Daniela Bianchi and Rosa Klebb, played by the Austrian Lotte Lenya.
** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' features General Orlov (played by British actor Creator/StevenBerkoff), who serves his Fake Russian with a side of Shatner speak and an order of LargeHam. It should be noted, however, that Berkoff's family has some roots in Russia.
** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' has Ukrainian actress and fluent native-Russian-speaker Creator/OlgaKurylenko (who was born when [[UsefulNotes/UnionOfSovietSocialistRepublics Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country]], with her mother having Russian ancestry) as Camille Montes. It's established that Camille is the daughter of a Bolshoi ballet dancer who married a Bolivian.
** ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': Safin is played by Creator/RamiMalek, an American of Egyptian descent. There's also Dr. Obruchev, who's played by Swedish-Danish actor David Denchik.

** Swedish actor Mikael Nyqvist plays the Russian mob boss Viggo Tarasov in ''Film/JohnWick''. Similarly, in ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'', "frequent fake Russian" Creator/PeterStormare plays Abram Tarasov, brother to the aformentioned Viggo.

* ''Film/RoomInRome'': Natasha Yarovenko is really Ukrainian.

* In the Creator/{{Nelvana}} cartoon adaptation of Creator/BrianJacques' ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'', the shrews Log-a-Log and Guosim speak with Russian accents. They are voiced by American-Canadian actor Bruce Dow and Canadian actress Marion Day respectively. It's actually bizarre and inexplicable for these characters to have such accents; in the original novel there is no indication of shrew culture having been inspired by Russia in any way.

* In the Creator/{{Nelvana}} cartoon adaptation of Creator/BrianJacques' ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'', the shrews Log-a-Log and Guosim speak with Russian accents. They are voiced by American-Canadian actor Bruce Dow and Canadian actress Marion Day respectively. It's unclear why these characters were given such accents, as in the original novel there is no indication of shrew culture being inspired by Russia in any way.

** Creator/MickeyRourke plays Russian supervillain Ivan Vanko (a cross between Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash) in ''Film/IronMan2''. Rourke spent time in a Russian supermax prison just to absorb some local flavor and was coached on the language by his Russian girlfriend. In the same film, Creator/ScarlettJohansson plays Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, who was Russian in the comics, but is not said to be Russian in the film, and [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent nothing in her performance even hints at it]].
** In ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', we see Natasha Romanoff conversing in Russian while under interrogation (by a Russian officer played by Polish actor Jerzy Skolimowski, who is speaking Russian, but NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent). Later in the film, she tells Loki in a ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: "I'm Russian...or was" (which is true to the mainstream Marvel continuity, wherein Natasha naturalized herself and got American citizenship[[note]]In Russian, there's a distinction between ''russkaya'' (ethnic Russian, feminine form) and ''rossiyanka'' (citizen of the Russian Federation, feminine form; can include Tatars, Bashkirs, Armenians, etc.). Both are translated as "Russian" into English. Obviously, here Natasha means the latter, as one can't exactly change one's ethnic origins.[[/note]]).
** In the ''Fury's Big Week'' comic (prequel to the ''Avengers'' film), the mutated dr. Sterns (a.k.a. the comics' Leader) drops a hint at Natasha being originally from Stalingrad (now Volgograd), after picking up on her accent.

Very few characters from Russia (or the rest of the former UsefulNotes/SovietUnion, for that matter) in Western television are played by native Russians. This was a particular case in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, for obvious reasons.

** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' has Ukrainian actress and fluent native-Russian-speaker Creator/OlgaKurylenko (who was born when [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country]], with her mother having Russian ancestry) as Camille Montes. It's established that Camille is the daughter of a Bolshoi ballet dancer who married a Bolivian.

** The Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance had promoted numerous Russian heels throughout its entire existence. The first time real Russians wrestled in an NWA ring did not occur until the 1990 edition of ''Starrcade'' when Victor Zangiev and Salman Hashimikov, two Soviet wrestlers from Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling (who in turn negotiated directly with the Soviet government to acquire them) took part in a tag team tournament.

** In ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', we see Natasha R conversing in Russian while under interrogation (by a Russian officer played by Polish actor Jerzy Skolimowski, who is speaking Russian, but NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent). Later in the film, she tells Loki in a ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: "I'm Russian...or was" (which is true to the mainstream Marvel continuity, wherein Natasha naturalized herself American[[note]]In Russian, there's a distinction between ''russkaya'' (ethnic Russian, feminine form) and ''rossiyanka'' (citizen of the Russian Federation, feminine form; can include Tatars, Bashkirs, Armenians, etc.). Both are translated as "Russian" into English. Obviously, here Natasha means the latter, as one can't exactly change one's ethnic origins.[[/note]]).

** In-universe in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''. [[spoiler:The titular Winter Soldier is made to look like a Russian assassin by using Russian-made weapons, speaking in Russian, and having a red star painted on his prosthetic arm, but in reality he's an American from New York being controlled by American agents.]]
*** [[spoiler: And that isn't even the end of it. Those American agents happen to be working for an agency that got its start in Nazi Germany, and the Winter Soldier - as a consequence of being portrayed by a Romanian-American actor - speaks Russian with a Romanian accent. Is this the LogicalExtreme of this trope? Probably.]]
** Black Widow also brought in more fake Russian people in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (French Julie Delpy as coach Madame B.) and [[Film/BlackWidow2021 her solo movie]] (Brits Creator/FlorencePugh and Creator/RachelWeisz as former Black Widows, while American Creator/DavidHarbour as Red Guardian). In those cases, there are Russian accents, which just shows that Natasha's lack of one is an indicator she has defected long ago (which also makes it funny on how in Natasha's solo movie, of [[DeepCoverAgent four Russians who spent three years pretending to be an American family]], only Natasha herself has learned to not sound Russian anymore).

** Black Widow also brought in more fake Russian people in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (French Julie Delpy as coach Madame B.) and [[Film/BlackWidow2021 her solo movie]] (Brits Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz as former Black Widows, while American Creator/DavidHarbour as Red Guardian). In those cases, there are Russian accents, which just shows that Natasha's lack of one is an indicator she has defected long ago (which also makes it funny on how in Natasha's solo movie, of [[DeepCoverAgent four Russians who spent three years infiltrated in America]], only Natasha herself has learned to not sound Russian anymore).

* ''Series/TheAmericans'' : Played straight by the protagonist couple (an American and a Welshman) and the handlers, averted otherwise by most of the supporting Soviet roles. The creative team had an official rule in place that the roles were to be played by Russian actors who spoke the language fluently.

** Creator/RobbieColtrane (Scottish) portrayed Russian Valentin Zukovsky in ''Film/GoldenEye'' and ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. ''[=GoldenEye=]'' features at least ''five more'' of these characters, though Janus has the excuse of explicitly growing up in Great Britain despite having Cossack parents. Natalya Simonova's actress, Izabella Scorupco, while she grew up and lives in Sweden, is at least Slavic (Polish), but still not Russian. Creator/FamkeJanssen (Dutch) plays the Georgian [[MurderousThighs sadomasochistic assassin]] Xenia Onnatopp. Alan Cumming (Scottish) plays the Russian computer programmer Boris Grishenko.

** John Rhys Davies takes a break from [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Egyptian]] and [[VideoGame/WingCommander Scottish]] characters to play Russian General Leonid Pushkin in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. He's actually Welsh. And not in fact [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings a Dwarf]] (for one thing, he's actually 6'1").
** American actress Barbara Bach in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''.

** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' has Ukrainian actress and fluent native-Russian-speaker Creator/OlgaKurylenko (who was born when [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country]], with her mother having Russian ancestry) playing the daughter of a Bolshoi ballet dancer who married a Bolivian.

** In ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', we see Black Widow (Johansson's character) conversing in Russian while under interrogation (by a Russian officer played by Polish actor Jerzy Skolimowski, who is speaking Russian, but NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent). Later in the film, she tells Loki in a ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: "I'm Russian...or was" (which is true to the mainstream Marvel continuity, wherein Natasha naturalized herself American[[note]]In Russian, there's a distinction between ''russkaya'' (ethnic Russian, feminine form) and ''rossiyanka'' (citizen of the Russian Federation, feminine form; can include Tatars, Bashkirs, Armenians, etc.). Both are translated as "Russian" into English. Obviously, here Natasha means the latter, as one can't exactly change one's ethnic origins.[[/note]]).

** Black Widow also brought in more fake Russian people in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (French Julie Delpy as coach Madame B.) and [[Film/BlackWidow2021 her solo movie]] (Brits Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz as former Black Widows, American David Harbour as Red Guardian). In those cases, there are Russian accents, which just shows that Natasha's lack of one is an indicator she has defected long ago (which also makes it funny on how in the latter movie, of [[DeepCoverAgent four Russians who spent three years infiltrated in America]], only one of those has learned to not sound Russian anymore).

** Black Widow also brought in more fake Russian people in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (French Julie Delpy as coach Madame B.) and [[Film/BlackWidow2021 her solo movie]] (Brits Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz as former Black Widows, American David Harbour as Red Guardian). In those cases, there are Russian accents, which just shows that Natasha's lack of one is an indicator she has defected long ago (which also makes it funny on how in the latter movie, of [[ManchurianAgent four Russians who spent three years infiltrated in America]], only one of those has learned to not sound Russian anymore).

** Black Widow also brought in more fake Russian people in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (French Julie Delpy as coach Madame B.) and [[Film/BlackWidow2021 her solo movie]] (Brits Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz as former Black Widows, American David Harbour as Red Guardian).

Very few characters from Russia or the former Soviet Union in Western television are played by native Russians. This was a particular case in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, for obvious reasons.

For convenience's sake, this trope covers the whole of the former Soviet Union on its post World War Two boundaries. Fake Russian ''text'' is TheBackwardsR.

* ''Series/TheAmericans'' : Played straight by the protagonist couple (an American and a Welshman) and the handlers, averted otherwise by most of the supporting Soviet roles, played by Russian actors who speak actual Russian in their scenes.

* Mike Nelson as a Soviet cosmonaut in a Joel-era episode of ''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]]''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMWO1PotmAA Say "hello" to ''Sari Andropoli!'']]. This bit is also a case of {{Foreshadowing}} and HilariousInHindsight for obvious reasons (go to around 1 hr. 15 min. in the video).