Nearly a Million Russians have Signed a Petition Against Chinese Involvement in Lake Baikal

Eurasia: New Series ^ | Mar 2019

[CondoleezzaProtege]

As more details about Chinese activities in and around Lake Baikal have surfaced, commentaries attacking them and complaining about the Russian government’s cooperation with them have appeared.

But most indicative of Russian attitudes is the result of an effort by film and television stars in Russia to block Chinese plans to build a water bottling plant on Russia’s most famous lake. They have already collected more than 800,000 signatures on an online petition.

This petition provides the strongest indication yet of just how angry Russians are about Chinese overreach in Russia east of the Urals. Unless Moscow limits Chinese activities there, this movement will only grow.

And that in turn will create problems for the Kremlin both in its relations with China and in its links to oligarchs and corrupt officials who corruption with Beijing and its businesses and with ordinary Russians who have finally decided to signal that they have had enough of officials who care only about money and ignore the interests of the country and of the population.

[AdmSmith]

This has been going on for many years:

26JUN2018
Siberians and Russians from the Far East are angry about many Chinese actions; but increasingly, they blame Moscow for allowing this to happen. Indeed, the central Russian government has often signed contracts with Chinese firms without so much as a consultation with local officials and even sweetened the deal for China by providing subsidies collected in taxes from Russian citizens and firms.

They blame Moscow for allowing almost unrestricted Chinese immigration; those incoming workers are then employed in Chinese factories operating on Russian soil, thus eliminating any possibility that local Russians could obtain these jobs. They are also upset that Moscow has allowed Chinese sex tourism to flourish: Chinese men, who outnumber women in their own country, reportedly come to Siberia to find wives, often successfully. Locals are also angry at Moscow’s agreement to allow China to extract water from Lake Baikal and ship it to Chinese cities. And finally, they resent that authorities have allowed Chinese resorts to be built on the shores of that lake, including in places where Moscow, by law, has prevented Russians from doing so.

https://jamestown.org/program/chinese-behavior-in-siberia-sparks-local-anger-against-beijing-and-moscow/

But 800 000 signatures, that is something!

[topher]

There was a mystic who had a number of interesting experiences -- many at the hands of KGB. This is Josyp Terelya (Ukrainian dissident). He saw a future war between China and Russia (Chinese tanks invading Russia).

It horrified him. He made an accurate drawing of a hydrogen bomb test by the French while he was held prisoner by the KGB and had no contact with the outside world.

This was a hydrogen bomb test that looked like 'Jesus on the cross' and was a cover photo for Time magazine.

[bravo whiskey]

Russians have been butting heads with Chinese in Siberia/Manchuria/Mongolia since the late 1800s. Lumber interests in the region by russian oligarchs helped lead to Russo Japanese war in 1904.