History Main / RussianBear

* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': Vladimir Goudenov Grizzlikof, the Russian S.H.U.S.H. Agent, is a bear.

In humorous or fantastical works, Russian or Russian FantasyCounterpartCulture characters and armies may be seen using bears as [[HorseOfADifferentColor mounts]] or [[BeastOfBattle war animals]]. In a WorldOfFunnyAnimals, Russian characters are often depicted as bears.

* The bear is officially used on the coat of arms of the Russian city of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod Novgorod]].

* The United Russia party, the dominant political party in Russian politics once led by UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin, uses a bear as its symbol. Its current president is Dmitry Medvedev. Speaking of which, and appropriately, the name "Medvedev" means "bear" in Russian.

->''"He- He's like a bear! He's like a big, shaved bear that hates people!"''
-->--'''The Scout''', describing the [[HuskyRusskie Heavy]], ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''

** ''Theatre/HenryV'': "Foolish curs, that run winking into the mouth of a Russian bear and have their heads crushed like rotten apples!" (Act III, Scene 7)

* The most internationally well known modern animated series from Russia? Well, ''Animation/MashaAndTheBear''. Though here the bear in question is a GentleGiant and a bit of a goofball.

* The most internationally well known modern animated series from Russia? Well, ''Animation/MashaAndTheBear''.

* The United Russia party, the dominant political party in Russian politics, uses a bear as its symbol.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': There's a polar bear character with the Russian-sounding name Koslov. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen He was originally intended to be a more prominent character]], head of [[TheMafiya a Russian-type mafia]], complete with the accent, but in the final film, he's a non-speaking henchman of the Italian-accented mafioso Mr. Big. Other polar bear mobsters wear attire stereotypical of Russian mobsters, like tracksuits and golden chains.

* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': The villager Vladimir is a bear cub with a stereotypically Russian name whose catchphrase, "nyet", is the Russian word for "no".

* ''WesternAnimation/BartokTheMagnificent'': Bartok's best friend Zozi is a talking bear which makes a living by entering the scenery as a [[BearsBadNews rabid beast]] and getting defeated every single time by his business partner. Unlike most examples, he is a GeniusBruser and civilized enough to the point he could almost be considered a ManOfWealthAndTaste. As a nod to Slavic folklore, he also plays the role of both TheLancer and BigFun, though his importance to the plot is limited to a few key scenes.

* ''WesternAnimation/BartokTheMagnificent'': Bartok's best friend is a talking bear which makes a living by entering the scenery as a [[BearsAreAlwaysBadNews rabid bear]] and getting defeated every single time by his business partner. Unlike most examples, he is a GeniusBruser and civilized enough to the point he could almost be considered a ManOfWealthAndTaste. As a nod to Slavic folklore, he also plays the role of both TheLancer and BigFun.

* In the Ace the Bat-Hound story ''Hounded'' in ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}: Urban Legends'', one of Ace's companions is a bear called Ursa who used to be the pet/mook-disposal of a boss in Gotham's RussianMafia. Said boss also asks one of his mooks if he knows ''why'' Russia is symbolised by the bear, and when said mook suggests it's because bears are strong, replies that on the contrary, it started out as an absurdist joke making Russia look foolish. But they ''made'' it into a symbol of strength, because [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong that's what Russia does]].

* In the Ace the Bat-Hound story ''Hounded'' in ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}: Urban Legends'', one of Ace's companions is a bear called Ursa who used to be the pet/mook-disposal of a boss in Gotham's RussianMafia. Said boss also asks one of his mooks if he knows ''why'' Russia is symbolised by the bear, and when said mook suggests it's because bears are strong, replies that on the contrary, it started out as an absurdist joke making Russia look foolish. But they ''made'' it into a symbol of strength.

** ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Mikhail Uriokovitch Ursus, also known as Ursa Major, is a mutant who can transform into a bear.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'':

** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'': The Soviet Union fields [[BearsAreBadNews war bears]] as their field scouts.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'': The Brown family has a Russian-accented pet bear named Tim.

* Ivan the Bear from ''VideoGame/BrutalPawsOfFury'' has a fighting style described as "Soviet Military."

Generally, these bears are always brown-furred specimens modeled after the Eurasian brown bear. More rarely, they may be based on white-furred polar bears, which also inhabit northern Russian and Siberia.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Kislev, a country based on medieval Russia, is heavily associated with bears and bear imagery. In addition to using bears in its faction symbols, its primary deity is the bear god Ursun, whose priests can be recruited as one-man units, it makes heavy use of tamed bears in battle -- its heavy cavalry rides bears, as do all character options, and bears also pull war sleds and heavy artillery -- and it can recruit and summon powerful elemental monsters resembling bears made out of ice and permafrost.