The article focuses on the ingraining of the stereotype of Russians as Soviet spies at the beginning of the Cold War. The study will fill a gap in the analysis of American stereotypes about Russia. The anti-Soviet hysteria in the US society, which began in the 1950s, is becoming clearer. The author revealed the basic ways of broadcasting the hostile image of the USSR, which took shape in the stereotype of “enemy agents”. Popular American films, cartoons, materials of The New York Times newspaper are considered as supporting examples. The author concludes that the aggressive stereotype of "intelligence officers and KGB agents" has been formed with the help of mass culture since the beginning of the Cold War.