China and Russia, Philip Snow
China and Russia, Philip Snow
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China and Russia
Four Centuries of Conflict and Concord

Author: Philip Snow

Narrator: Michael Page

Unabridged: 25 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/31/2023


Synopsis

A compelling, expansive history of the relationship between China and Russia, from the seventeenth century to the present

Russia and China, the largest and most populous countries in the world, respectively, have maintained a delicate relationship for four centuries. In addition to a four-thousand-kilometer border, they have periodically shared a common outlook on political and economic affairs. But they are, in essence, profoundly different polities and cultures, and their intermittent alliances have proven difficult and at times even volatile.

Philip Snow provides a full account of the relationship between these two global giants. Looking at politics, religion, economics, and culture, Snow uncovers the deep roots of the two nations' alignment. We see the shifts in the balance of power, from the wealth and strength of early Qing China to the Tsarist and Soviet ascendancies, and episodes of intense conflict followed by harmony. He looks too at the experiences and opinions of ordinary people, which often vastly differed from those of their governments, and considers how long the countries' current amicable relationship might endure.

About Philip Snow

Philip Snow has traveled extensively in Russia and China since the 1960s and has lived in Hong Kong since 1994. An expert in China's international relations, he is the author of The Star Raft: China's Encounter with Africa and The Fall of Hong Kong.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Elle Lu on June 04, 2024

-1 for the behemoth that this book (necessarily) is......more

Goodreads review by Aislinn on January 03, 2024

I've always found the relationship between China and Russia fascinating. Sadly, it seems to me that few Western sources are willing to look at them from any other angle than as a fused, to-be-neutralized "axis of Communism autocracy"; or as a fused, glued-together Lego piece that should be studied i......more

Goodreads review by Scott on February 28, 2024

(Audiobook) This work offers insight into Sino-Russian relations since the 1500s. Yet, most of the work tends to focus on the 20th century, especially the relationship between the Communist-inspired totalitarian states of the USSR and PRC. Likely that is the case as that relationship, that swayed wi......more

Goodreads review by Nabilah on February 02, 2025

Very well-researched and the author is clearly very knowledgeable on the topic, however this was a brutal slog to get through. It was sometimes hard to follow the points that he was making. There was an assumption that the reader was already deeply familiar with the histories of both of these countr......more

Goodreads review by Pep on April 08, 2024

Well documented and full of facts. While the first part is a bit cumbersome, due most surely to the reader in me not knowing anything about the topic, as time goes by and we enter the 20th Century, we find ourselves in a territory much better charted, where we find our way. This is an important book......more