Russian Studies in China: Transformation of Paradigm

Abstract

Russian studies are the important part of area studies in Chinese science. In 21st century the research of Russia has played the great role in People's Republic of China. The Chinese scholars attempted to determine the role of the collapse of the USSR and the appearance of new state the Russian Federation for their country. The modern Russian studies in China have been oriented to the needs of the Chinese foreign policy and the ideology of the ruling Communist Party of China. The objects of the contemporary Russian studies in China are the two interconnecting themes: the one is the history of Russia-China relations and its current situation; the other is the Russian history and current affairs. In this paper we attempt to find the Chinese interpretation of Russia foreign policy from Soviet period to Putin's era. We use the open sources: papers, monographies, official web-sites of the two main research centres of Russian studies: the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Institute of Russia, East Europe and Central Asia of CASS – to conclude that the Chinese researches of Russian studies reflect the core of the Chinese government position.