Article
Russian-Chinese Relations
Thе article is dedicated to the Roman legal concept of "empire" and its importance for the development of Russian state. Particular attention is paid to the reasons of conclusions and to the analysis of the content of the first Russian-Chinese Treaty (Treaty of Nerchinsk) of 1689.
The Soviet assistance to the leading political forces in China, including the Guomindang, has been always an object of numerous discussions. Soviet/Russian historians tend to emphasize its major importance for the political development of China, but their Chinese counterparts belittle its significance quite often. Why is it still difficult to evaluate the quantity and the quality of this assistance? What criteria should be used for its objective assessment? These questions are answered in the book by the historian and sinologist Alexander Yurkevich (the National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow). Judging from documents (some of them have never been known) the author shows why and how Moscow’s assistance to the Guomindang in the 1920’s with advisers, finance and material supplies did not become an instrument of the Moscow plans in China, but rather helped the Guomindang undermine these plans and form its own strategy of the unification of China.
This book will help specialists in social history, students and general readers interested in the history of China and Russia learn more about the subject.
The author investigates how various themes, including mutual interaction, territory delimitation and key periods in Russian history are presented both in contemporary Chinese history textbooks for secondary schools and Russianist literature for wide readership that had been published in China during 1997-2008. The author emphasizes the peculiar perception of Russian history in China and considers it most important factor for creation the image of Russia in contemporary PRC.