Paul Goble
Staunton, Dec. 9 – Surveys show no significant difference between those who live east of the Urals and those who live to the west of that traditional dividing line between the European and the Asiatic portion of the country in the share of Russians who fear China, according to Levada Center head Denis Volkov.
That is just one of the intriguing conclusions he offers in a new survey of polling data about changing Russian attitudes toward China over the last several decades (gorby.media/articles/2024/12/06/i-ne-drug-i-ne-vrag-a-kak reposted at levada.ru/2024/12/09/i-ne-drug-i-ne-vrag-a-kak/).
Among the others, the following are especially noteworthy:
• Russians who oppose Putin’s turn to the east are far more likely to fear a Chinese threat to the territorial integrity of Russian than are those who support the Kremlin leader’s policies.
• Russians fear that unless their national economy turns around, there is a risk that Russia will soon become very much the junior partner in its alliance with China.
• Few Russians are troubled by the appearance of Chinatowns in Russian cities like the Khuamin district in Moscow.
• Unlike 30 years ago, Russians now view China as an appropriate model for emulation.
• Russians’ greatest fear is that China will turn back toward the West, leaving Russia without its support in its conflict with the West.
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