US film portrayal of Mir angers Russians

The movie Armageddon has angered some Russian MPs because of its mocking portrayal of the Mir space station and Russian cosmonauts.

The station, the pride of the Russian space industry, is ridiculed as a floating junkyard manned by a lonely, half-mad cosmonaut.

Mir's problems aside, Russian moviegoers were also offended.

"They made us look like clowns, idiots in fur hats," said one Russian viewer.

The real Mir has had its share of problems including a fire, a crash and endless computer malfunctions.

Russia has had some problems with its space programme

But the Russian Parliament said that that was not the point. Nationalist MPs said the movie went too far.

"Some of those things are just insulting for Russians. The problem is the first priority for any nation is to keep its self-identification," said MP Alexi Podboryozkin.

Armageddon is not the only film to poke fun at the Russians.

During the Cold War, the country used to be portrayed as the 'Evil Empire'. Russians were the enemy, but in the post-Soviet era, US films often cast Russians as gangsters, idiots and drunks.

In the Soviet days, the Russian film industry fired back, portraying the West as a place of violence and greed in propaganda films. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the battle has been more one-sided.