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

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.
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.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

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