The role of a country’s first lady and the expectations that come with it differ from country to country. In many Western countries, the role is highly public; in others, such as Russia, the first lady continues to live her life as a private citizen.

In Russia, "the institute of the first lady is still quite young, so there are no huge expectations on the part of the Russian public," said Alena Doletskaya, the editor-in-chief of Russian "Vogue" magazine.

Starting in the Soviet era, the mission of the first lady was to raise children, keep house, and support her husband in his quest for a more perfect communist state. Russian people saw their first lady only at grand state events or at certain international meetings.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s wife, Raisa Gorbacheva, was more public than her predecessors and took the social duties of her role seriously. A lot of Russian people didn't like her because she was fashionable and charismatic, and they felt she should be less public.

The balance between publicity and isolation was difficult for Ludmila Putina, the wife of Vladimir Putin, the former president and current prime minister of the Russian Federation. During Putin’s presidency, she remained in her husband’s shadow.

Little is known about the new Russian first lady, Svetlana Medvedeva, or her family. It seems that Medvedeva is eager to appear publicly, but after the inactivity of the previous first lady, she doesn’t want to push the traditional boundaries of her role too much.

The role of the first lady in the United States, unlike in Russia, has a history as long as the country itself. Since Martha Washington, the position of the first lady has evolved and expanded. Although she has no official role or salary, the first lady is a highly visible and significant position in the U.S. government, and the American public has many expectations of their president’s wife.

The first lady is first and foremost the hostess of the White House. Beyond her job of appearing with her husband publicly, the first lady can serve her nation according to her own interests. Whether this is taking an active role in policy-making, devoting herself to charitable causes, or focusing on family responsibilities, she remains in the public eye.

Dolley Madison was the first to popularize the first ladyship. She attracted news coverage by working to assist orphans and women, dressing in elegant fashions, and undertaking daring risks to save important historical memorabilia. Until Eleanor Roosevelt, Madison was the model for first ladies.

Eleanor Roosevelt was an extremely public first lady. She traveled for her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, because he had polio and could not travel himself. Additionally, she hosted a radio show and authored a weekly newspaper column.

While Madison and Roosevelt each contributed to the development of the role of the American first lady, the most iconic first lady was undoubtedly Jacqueline Kennedy. The epitome of what the public wants from the wife of the president, Kennedy’s charisma matched her husband’s and her wardrobe set fashions for decades to come. She is not particularly remembered for her policy or charitable efforts other than patronizing the arts, but instead for how she presented herself and how well she fit into the role as the hostess of the White House.

Regardless of Americans’ preference for an elegant first lady, those who work hard to promote causes—usually ones which are not politically divisive—are respected in their own right. In recent years, Nancy Reagan founded the drug awareness campaign “Just Say No;” Hillary Rodham Clinton focused her efforts on trying to reform the American healthcare system; and Laura Bush supported childhood literacy groups.

Current first lady, Michelle Obama, is a seemingly perfect combination of the fashion icon and the caring, concerned citizen. Her issue of choice is supporting military families, and a close eye is being kept on her fashion choices. She also has decided to focus on supporting her family, leaving a successful career to do so.

Obama is hailed as a Jackie Kennedy, but her decision to play an active political and social role, pursuing an agenda of her own, makes her more controversial. Many Americans believe that she should take a less active role in politics during her first ladyship, and expect her to focus more on charitable causes and her family.

The differences between the expectations for the first ladies in the United States and Russia can be explained by a difference in culture. No matter what the American first lady chooses do, she is expected to remain visible while she takes care of her husband and family, serves her nation through charitable acts, and acts as a role model for, and a visible representation of, American women.

But for many Russian people, it is acceptable and expected that the first lady will remain in the shadow of her great husband. In either case, the first lady must fulfill the expectations of the public and support her husband in order to reflect positively on the president and her country.