Russians fear Lake Baikal town could become a Chinese “province”
Dan Tri Listvyanka, a peaceful tourist town on Lake Baikal in Siberia, has recently become a hot topic attracting the attention of Russian nationalists after Chinese investors rushed to buy real estate in the lakeside area of this town.
Listvyanka town on Lake Baikal in winter. Photo: AFP
According toFinancial Times, Russian newspapers continuously published articles with headlines that "caused a stir" in public opinion such as "invasion", "conquest", and even "China's restraint" on the town of Listvyanka. This is a place that attracts many tourists and investors from China.
In connection with this topic, a petition was posted online, accusing Beijing of trying to turn Listvyanka into a Chinese province, and asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to issue a directive banning the sale of land in this area to the Chinese.
The petition received 55,000 signatures of support, while Listvyanka's population is less than 2,000. Russian newspapers, including state-runMoscow Komsomolets, widely posted the petition.
“People are panicking! The authorities are not taking any action. But if the situation does not change, we will lose our important area. It is our property! We are letting goats out in our gardens,” the Financial Times quoted a petition posted on Change.org by Yulia Ivanets, who lives in the nearby town of Angarsk.
Ms. Yulia said that 10% of the large real estate in Listvyanka has been bought by Chinese investors. However, the concerns of Russians seem to contradict the diplomatic efforts of the two countries' leaders, and threaten to disrupt the overall picture of the burgeoning alliance between Russia and China.
People are worried
Map of Listvyanka town area (Photo: FT)
During a visit to Moscow last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi affirmed that the two countries are building a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and that this relationship has continuously “reached new heights” in recent times.
Russia needs Chinese investment to help develop its economy, especially as Moscow faces sanctions from the West after annexing Crimea in 2014. Meanwhile, China is also prioritizing investment in Russia as well as other Eurasian countries, seeing it as part of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to develop infrastructure projects in the region.
However, at the local level, mutual distrust and cultural dissonance have rendered the diplomatic efforts of the two countries' leaders meaningless.
Viktor Sin'kov, head of the Listvyanka administration's legal department, said real estate development projects by Chinese investors in the region have met with a backlash from residents.
“People are really worried about the Chinese buying everything here. They build big hotels. They destroy and change the landscape. Their billboards are everywhere, even on fences,” said Viktor.
According to Mr. Viktor, Chinese travel companies also introduce to visitors that Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake, was part of China during the Tang and Han dynasties.
“People here say that the Chinese introducing this means they want to take back this land,” Mr. Viktor added.
Additionally, Chinese travel websites also state that Lake Baikal was once part of Chinese territory. When advertising trips to Lake Baikal, the Chinese travel company Cassia also mentions that China once owned the land.
“This area was once called the North Sea during the Han Dynasty… It was a Chinese territory for a long time in history,” Cassia's ad said.
