Ethnic Brawl Highlights Russian Fears of Chinese
In his blog Window on Eurasia, Paul Globe, director of research and publications at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, writes about a recent violent incident that occurred in the far eastern city of Vladivostok between Russians and Chinese students:
According to regional media outlets and Ekho Moskvy, about 40 Chinese students at the Far Eastern Technical University and somewhat fewer ethnic Russian students from the Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service clashed, leaving at least seven seriously injured (www.edrus.org/content/view/8455/53/).
The local authorities quickly intervened to separate the two groups, detaining some from both, according to these preliminary reports. And while the precise causes of the clash are still under investigation, such a fight and the coverage it attracted point to increased tensions between the two ethnic groups.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, ethnic Russians in Siberia, the Far East and European Russian have been concerned that Chinese guest workers and traders will move into Russia beyond the Urals in such numbers that Moscow will not be able to hold the region within the borders of the Russian Federation.
Also see this recent report on Chinese guest workers in Siberia from Russia Today (h/t Shanghaiist.com):
Origin: Paul Globe, Window on Eurasia
