Recently, writer Vsevolod Ovchinnikov, a legend of Russian journalism, orientalist, author of many books, including the beloved "Sakura Branches", as well as a long-term author of our magazine, turned 85 years old. On his birthday, the writer shared with the editors his thoughts on recreating the Great Silk Road on a modern basis, thanks to which economic and cultural ties between the West and the East were carried out for seventeen centuries. - Vsevolod Vladimirovich, now the Russian mass media write a lot about the possible threat of Chinese expansion, that the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom look with lust at the vast sparsely populated Siberia and the Far East. Probably, no one can answer the question better than you: how real is such a threat-now and in the distant future? - These threats are greatly exaggerated and, most likely, devoid of any grounds. At the same time, Russia's relations with China should not be left to its own devices; they should be patiently and skilfully built, relying on the long-standing traditions of Russian politics and diplomacy. As you know, the coat of arms of Russia is a double-headed eagle. One of its heads is facing West, the other is facing East. This in itself means that we must maintain a balance in our relations with both the West and the East. Do we follow this tradition, and by and large-the precepts of our ancestors? Alas, not always and not in everything. In recent years, our country has been actively promoting the ideas of Western centrism. And from the West, we are given the idea that the East is fraught with a threat to us. That almost one and a half billion-dollar China, "hanging" over the depopulated Far East, is a direct threat to our security. And, they say, our salvation lies in strengthening our alliance with the West. This, of course, is not the case. As you know, most of the population and economic potential of Russia is concentrated in the European part of the country, and in China - on its eastern coast. In ... Читать далее