Drifting From the West’s Orbit, Russians Find a New Role Model in China
China has become trendy for Russians who once worshiped everything Western. Young people are learning Mandarin, and Chinese culture and goods have become ubiquitous in Moscow.
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“The last three years let the Russians see the East in a totally new light, not as an exotic alternative to Europe but as a mainstream direction for business, tourism and studies,” Kirill V. Babaev, the head of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an email.
“The Russian people are following this trend with so much interest, as if they had just discovered another planet,” he added.