Russians Rise Up Against Both Moscow and Beijing in Siberia

Seven million Russians and over 148 million Chinese live along the border. Little by little, the Chinese are crossing over the Amur River to settle on the Russian side.

by Paul Goble
March 8, 2019

China is rapidly expanding its presence and control in Russia’s Trans-Baikal region. This drive is, in part, being driven by Beijing’s economic interests in Siberia and the Russian Far East as a whole.

However, perhaps even more importantly, the trend is buttressed by the fact that Russian officials and businessmen are putting their personal economic gains ahead of the country’s national interests.

That combination of factors has infuriated many Russians, prompting demonstrations against the Chinese presence, and even leading some local deputies in Siberia and the Far East to vote against Chinese plans to invest, no matter how hard-pressed their home regions may be.

In the past, Moscow routinely played up popular fears of Chinese expansion as a way to unite the country; but the center’s ability to do so is declining rapidly as ever more Russians now blame the Russian business community and its allies in the government for China’s advance.

Indeed, talk about China…