What does the Russian bear symbolize?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Bear The Russian Bear is a national personification for Russia, used in Cartoons and articles at least since the 19th century, and relating alike to Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the present post-Soviet Russia. It often was and is used by Westerners, to begin with especially in Britain and later also in the US, and not always in a flattering context - on occasion used to imply that Russia is "big, brutal and clumsy" (see 19th century cartoon below). The bear image was, however, on various occasions (especially in the 20th century) also taken up by Russians themselves. Having the teddy bear "Misha" as the mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games - boycotted by numerous countries due to the invasion of Afghanistan - was evidently intended to counter the "big and brutal Russian Bear" image with a small, cuddly bear.