Wary Of China, Russians Look West
By Dmitry Shlapentokh
28 July,
2008
Asia
Times Online
Like his predecessor Vladimir Putin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev followed his taking over the Kremlin, in May, with a visit to China. For some pundits this raised the specter of a Chinese-Russian alliance as a threat to the West. This is not the case. The Russian - both elite and popular - approach to China is often guarded. And as with all flirtation with Chinese and Asian powers, Russia continues to be West-oriented. My recent visit to Russia confirmed this.
My arrival coincided with Medvedev's landing in China. Russian TV carried his speech in which he proclaimed that Russia and China were strategic partners, despite the fact that "someone" might be upset with this. The warm atmosphere was underscored by images of Medvedev surrounded by excited Chinese students, some of whom spoke good Russian.
Still, the comments of the pundits on television were guarded. Some acknowledged that, although China is indeed ahead of Russia in economic development, Russia could hardly benefit from close cooperation with China for most of the niche markets are already taken by Japanese and US companies. Another observer suggested that Chinese achievements should not be exaggerated. China may indeed emerge as the premier world power, but only in the distant future; despite its growth, China has serious problems, such as high inflation.
This emphasis on the down sides of China's growth and general modernization continued for several days following Medvedev's visit. Television images focusing on the devastating Chinese earthquake in Sichuan province and Russia's help was similar to that of the Soviet era - an underdeveloped Third World country that the generous Soviet people helped. Observations that China did not have sophisticated equipment like Russia were interwoven with comments on the totalitarian state, which controls the birth rate though a one-child policy.
Ordinary Russians I met mostly dismissed China as a true economic giant of the 21st century. Some see China as just one among many economic global centers that, together with Russia, will emerge after the inevitable US downfall. For others, China is just a producer of low-quality goods, such as poorly made cars. For those who just see China as an economic force, this is not a problem. But for those who interweave China's economy with other aspects of the country - what these Russians perceive as essential traits - they see China as a threat.
The main reason is one of demographics. Russia's 142 million population is declining, while China's 1.3 billion-plus is growing. Across Russia, one finds posters calling for bigger families and radio broadcasts that paint population decline as a catastrophic development that could lead to Russia's disintegration.
Russians fear a Chinese spillover into their eastern regions. They acknowledge that Chinese migrants are very hardworking and they could even transform Russia's vast tundra into rice paddies. But (white) Russians fear they will be absorbed into the Chinese multitude.
One of my interlocutors said she believed this was inevitable, and her only consolation was that by the time it happened she would not be alive.
The Russian view of the Chinese as hardworking and obedient to often ruthless masters fits the old image of peril from the East that has been historically associated with the Mongols/Tatars, the only people to have actually conquered Russia, in the 13th century.
In the late Boris Yeltsin and early Putin era, the image of the Mongols was recast due to the popularity of "Eurasianism" - the political/philosophical creed that regards Russians as a unique blend of Orthodox Slavs and Muslims of mostly Turkic origin. The Mongols were credited with forging this unique "symbiosis". Now, however, the old image of the Mongols is back, and they are seen as ruthless conquerors who brought Russia horrific suffering, regardless of any positive aspects of their rule. These Mongols are often associated with the Chinese, and Asians in general.
The implication of this lingering fear of the Chinese among the populace, even when their positive qualities, such as hard work, are acknowledged, is that Russia continues to be oriented toward the West, especially Europe. This despite concerns over an advancing North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United States' planned missile defense system in Europe.
Russians regard Europe as much closer to them than the people of the East. Many hope that "Old" Europe - notably Germany and France - will recognize that economically, militarily and demographically, Russia is essential to them as a fellow Christian, Caucasian civilization that faces the same pressures from the East.
Dmitry Shlapentokh, PhD, is associate professor of history, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Indiana University South Bend. He is author of East Against West: The First Encounter - The Life of Themistocles, 2005.
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