The Perceptions of China by Russia`s Foreign Policy Elite

Abstract

This paper analyzes the perceptions of China among Russia`s foreign policy elite. As in the 1970s, current Russian publications on China have reflected authors` attitudes on what is taking place within Russia itself. The paper systematizes the views of Russian analysts and correlates them with the respective ideological affinities. The paper also explores Russian leftist, pragmatist, and liberal analyses of international relations in the Asia-Pacific region, and examines the internal Russian dispute over China`s international role and the prospects for Russian-Chinese relations as seen by optimists, pessimists, alarmists, and pragmatists. China`s place in Russia`s foreign policy from the perspectives of left and right-wing radicals and moderates, as well as pragmatists and centrists, is also assessed. These assessments are correlated to the three images of Russia currently prevailing among Russian elite and which are the focal point of domestic policy struggles in Russia.