How Will Russians React to Michelle Obama?

The First Family leave for Moscow today. In addition to being a political challenge, Russia is also a cultural challenge for the Obamas. Apparently Russia isn't tolerant of different races and a strong First Lady isn't something Russians are used to:

"The institution of first lady in Russia is still quite young," said Alyona Doletskaya, editor of Russian Vogue and doyenne of the Moscow fashion scene. "So there are no huge expectations on the part of Russian public."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's wife Svetlana is pious and discreet and met her husband while she was a schoolgirl. She supports charity and the arts, but has assumed no independent voice on issues facing the country. She dresses conservatively, lacking the edgy fashion sense that has attracted a nationwide following for Michelle Obama.

Russia has known one iconic first lady in modern times: Raisa Gorbachev, wife of the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was much loved around the world for breaking with tradition by appearing regularly in public with her husband, embracing high fashion and firing off wisecracks during official foreign trips.

But she earned little affection for her boldness in Russia, where she was seen as strong-willed and ambitious. MSNBC