"Svetlana already has an idea for how she can show her gratitude to Russia. "We have to build an Orthodox church with a tall bell tower," she says, "so that the Chinese over there can hear that there are still people here."
A long, well written article on the changing face of Russian Siberia and China, with photos.
We ought to make Siberia the 51st state. Of all the former peoples of the USSR, Siberians have always been [had to be], the most independent thinking. They’d love us. Then, there’s the mineral resources. And we’d be accross the street from the greatest take-out in the world.
Get hold of Travels in Sibera by Ian Frazier.
Great read about Siberia and what it is like now.
At one point, he and some friends drive from St Petersburg to (almost) Vladivostok.
Geography has made China and Russia are natural enemies. Much more natural enemies of each other than either are of the USA.
Tom Clancy wrote an excellent novel about this subject:
“The Bear and the Dragon” in 2000.
China's economic rise has made itself felt around the world -- particularly on the Chinese border with Russia's far east. Here, the pecking order is impossible to mistake: The Chinese gate is on the left, the Russian on the right. A train full of Siberian timber rumbles into China.
Impressive!