Russia and China. Essays on the History and Modernity of Relations

Ivan Zuienko — orientalist, historian, science popularizer, lecturer at MGIMO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Author of the book «China in the Era of Xi Jinping», which was included in the longlist for the «Enlightener» award in 2025. Ivan Zuienko's new book is dedicated to the history and modernity of Russian-Chinese relations. The author does not shy away from difficult questions and unravels the most complex and tangled plotlines. Among the topics discussed in 18 essays of the book are: -How was the border between the countries formed and why was it the subject of dispute for a long time? -How were Russian cities arranged in China and the Chinese diaspora in Russia? -How did the Soviet Union help China and how do modern Chinese view this? -What did Mao Zedong really say about the Far Eastern territories? -How did Mikhail Gorbachev establish cooperation with China, and how did he almost disrupt it? -What problems trace back to the «crazy 90s», and which of them are no longer relevant? -What is currently on the agenda of bilateral cooperation?