“The Worries of Russians About China’s Increasing Influence in Russia: Expert Analysis”

All of Moscow was decked out for a party when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia and President Vladimir Putin in March this year. Russia’s war in Ukraine has isolated both Putin and Russia. Finally, Putin could bask in the glory of one of the world’s most powerful leaders.

– But many Russians are very worried about China’s increasing influence in Russia. Putin needs Xi much more than the other way around, says Mark Galeotti, Russia expert, professor and author of a number of books about Russia, to Dagbladet. The book “Russia – the whole story in short” has just been translated into Norwegian.

Want to go to the French Riviera

Galeotti points out that Putin and his generation have always been at war with the West, but believes younger generations have a completely different relationship with their neighbors in the West.

– Wealthy Russians are most longing for their yachts in the south of France, and have long been concerned about China’s increasing influence in Russia, Galeotti observes and continues:

– They were also before the war. This is something many Russians have strong opinions about, and they believe that the real threat to Russia is not NATO, but China.

Concerned Russians believe their homeland is becoming more and more dependent on Chinese money and economy, according to Galeotti.

– People also talk a lot about Chinese maps of various Russian regions in the east. More and more of these are given Chinese regional names on Chinese maps. Not that this is a threat here and now, but in the long term, says Galeotti.

Does not support Putin

Regarding Putin and his ongoing war in Ukraine, Professor Galeotti believes that most Russians do not support this, despite the fact that opinion polls are constantly reported to say so.

– Opinion polls in today’s increasingly authoritarian Russia are difficult. But most Russians just want to live normal lives and don’t want to be Putin’s stormtroopers, he says and continues:

– We see that a quarter of Russians support the war, but not massacres like in Butsha. A quarter say they are completely against the war, but do not go out and demonstrate because they know they will then end up in prison. The other half are just trying to live their lives. Since people have no way to influence it, they just try to shut out the war. But that doesn’t mean they support it, says Galeotti.