March 05, 2023

Tourists from China Return To Russia


Tourists from China Return To Russia
Chinese tourists on Red Square.

RIA Novosti, a Russian state-controlled news agency, expressed enthusiasm about the arrival in Russia of the first group of tourists from China since the pandemic started, advertising the group's positive experience. The timing of the article, March 2, is not coincidental. Just days earlier the U.S. Department of Defense urged China not to sell weapons to Russia.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sanctions, boycotts, and Russia's closed-offed-ness have made it a less-than-ideal tourist destination. According to Kommersant, international tourism to Russia shrunk by 90% over 2022. But now the Russian tourism industry sees a new horizon with tourists from China.

Yet the excitement around travelers from China isn't just about boosting Russia's tourism economy, but also strengthening a political alliance. Moscow depends on Beijing economically and geopolitically, but the response has not been precisely what the Kremlin wanted. The Wilson Center describes China's approach to the war in Ukraine as "a careful balancing act" and "distance diplomacy," avoiding openly supporting Russia while simultaneously opposing UN sanctions

Meanwhile, all the stops have been pulled to accommodate China's incoming tourists. Tourist agency Nika received the first group of tourists in late February. Businesses evaded Visa and Mastercard's sanctions by accepting WeChat Pay, which is dominant in China. And direct flights from Moscow to Shanghai and Beijing are being negotiated.

RIA's article ended by advocating for the removal of visas: "A system needs to be rectified so [Chinese citizens] can return without a visa." 

You Might Also Like

We Have Land Enough

We Have Land Enough

How the situation in Russia looks from a village in the very remote and very Far East.
Not That Way
  • February 26, 2023

Not That Way

Vladimir Putin revoked a 2012 decree aimed at economic integration with the EU and supporting Moldovan sovereignty.
Cry for Me, Argentina
  • February 19, 2023

Cry for Me, Argentina

Six pregnant Russians were detained while entering Argentina, prompting a criminal investigation into birth tourism agencies.
Sino - Russian Relations
  • November 28, 2001

Sino - Russian Relations

Historic border accords signed between Russia and China on December 9, 1999.  This one of the last major official acts of then President Boris Yeltsin prior to his surprise resignation on December 31.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955