There is no historical precedent of racist depiction of russians as monkeys. there is however a history of racist depiction of russians as bears, including teddy bears.
It has also been used as a racist depiction by western media for a long time. These things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, using animals/animal symbols a cultural holds in high regard, as a racist caricature towards those cultures, is very common. But yes, the drunken, wild animal, bear depiction of russians has been used as a racist caricature for a long time. Bear toys are often used to emasculate a particular figure going with this theme.
Wait until you find out about the Xi Jinping Winnie the Pooh images. If you think this is what racism is, you need to go back to school.
Is there historical precedent of racist caricatures depicting a group of people as cute cartoon teddy bears?
There is no historical precedent of racist depiction of russians as monkeys. there is however a history of racist depiction of russians as bears, including teddy bears.
From Wikipedia:
It has also been used as a racist depiction by western media for a long time. These things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, using animals/animal symbols a cultural holds in high regard, as a racist caricature towards those cultures, is very common. But yes, the drunken, wild animal, bear depiction of russians has been used as a racist caricature for a long time. Bear toys are often used to emasculate a particular figure going with this theme.