From the West, Russia seems like an immense country, looming menacingly over old Europe. And if you look from the East? Next to China's huge human reservoir, we don't look so scary. And our sparsely populated Asian territories are like an uninhabited desert waiting for millions of Chinese. China in the 21st century can become for Russia the straw that we can grasp and swim out of. Or maybe it’s a weight that will finally drag our country into the whirlpool of historical oblivion. This book is about China's policy in the near future in relation to Russia, the USA and other players on the “great chessboard” of world politics.