the bucolic village of Pervomayskoye might seem like an unusual place to celebrate Russia’s growing ties with China But a new Chinese cultural center and museum hopes to do just that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets and her Chinese counterpart sped into town for the ceremonial opening of a Chinese Communist Party Museum Amid a display of more pomp and circumstance than the village had seen in years 8,000 residents suddenly found themselves at the nexus of Sino-Russian relations had once hosted a famous Chinese Communist Party Conference It presented Russia and China with a golden opportunity to showcase joint history and consolidate bilateral relations With the collapse of relations with the West after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula Russia’s ties with China have taken on new significance which “never existed before,” is now growing among Russians a lecturer at the Higher School of Economics And public diplomacy — efforts to establish dialogue between societies and cultures — has been increasingly pursued by both sides Some consider the museum complex in Pervomayskoye a former aristocratic manor from the 18th century to be the birthplace of the Chinese revolution when nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek was purging socialists back home exiled Chinese communists held their only party conference outside China in that building the event has long been significant to the Chinese leadership — seen as a moment when other communists came to the Chinese revolutionaries’ assistance Beijing pleaded with the Russian authorities for permission to build a museum commemorating the conference Their efforts met with little success until 2013 At the G20 summit meeting between Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping the Russian president agreed to rent the historic building to Moscow’s Chinese cultural center The Chinese took two years to deal with Russia’s notorious red tape When they finally made it to Pervomayskoye to begin renovation work the manor had stood empty throughout the 1990s and nearly burnt to the ground in a 2011 fire the building has been returned to its former and crystal chandeliers now stand as monument of Chinese and Russian unity The glossy new museum falls into Beijing’s broader strategy of public diplomacy within Russia an international educational organization connected to China’s Education Ministry has opened over 20 Chinese language learning centers in Russia Educational exchanges are also on the rise the Chinese and Russian authorities decided to expand educational exchange programs so that each country would send 20,000 students to the other each year Russia’s foreign aid agency quietly reoriented the “New Generation” program which brings young professionals to Russia from abroad for short exchanges several senior Chinese and Russian officials cut the ceremonial ribbon a Russian company that partners with major Chinese publishing companies to make Chinese literature accessible to Russian-speaking readers whose sponsors include the House of Russo-Chinese Friendship and the Sino-Russian Chamber of Commerce these developments form what political scientists term “soft power” — non-coercive efforts to shape public attitudes Russian foreign policy expert Dmitry Suslov says Beijing is increasingly interested in using these tools in Russia and Central Asia where it hopes to build a transport corridor to Europe “Soft power is a tool to convince your partner to do what you want to do,” Suslov said “Both countries are working on that now.”  But Russian public opinion towards China is contradictory at best China has been perceived as a partner and one of the friendliest countries toward Russia Russians still relate negatively to the Chinese and fear the so-called “yellow threat.”  Many Russians also perceive China as a primitive society says HSE’s Krivokhizh: “They still believe the Chinese are uneducated and backwards.”  Doubts also linger between political elites in Moscow and Beijing Russian officials worry about China taking over the Russian Far East; or about Moscow being too junior a partner in the relationship worry that Russia’s turn toward China is purely tactical and only temporary Many assume that if relations with the West improve Such fears can even derail otherwise successful public diplomacy accused the local Confucius Institute of violating Russia’s infamous “foreign agent” law The case was only dropped after the Chinese embassy became involved Russians have proven more receptive to Chinese influence locals speak proudly of their new park and bus station Property values in the village have skyrocketed but in Pervomayskoye it is proving to be a success soft power might be able to bridge gaps where diplomacy fails Krivokhizh warns not to expect results in the immediate future Chinese public diplomacy has not been particularly effective “though the Chinese are very persistent.”  Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." 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