It has also been used as a racist depiction by western media for a long time. These things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, using animals/animal symbols a cultural holds in high regard, as a racist caricature towards those cultures, is very common. But yes, the drunken, wild animal, bear depiction of russians has been used as a racist caricature for a long time. Bear toys are often used to emasculate a particular figure going with this theme.