Dystopia of the “Chinese” Future of Siberia and the Russian Far East (Based on Youtube Video Hosting Materials)

Abstract

The article analyzes Russian perceptions of the Chinese threat to Siberia and the Far East and addresses the questions of who, how and why posts content related to China's negative influence on Russia's border regions on Youtube. The author collected the most popular videos on Youtube using the keywords "China" and "Siberia"/"Far East". Then, on the one hand, the video's producers, themes and images of the present and future were classified, and, on the other hand, there was analyzed what kind of subject they create and what they criticized through statements about the Chinese threat. The analysis shows that knowledge about the Chinese threat is performative, i.e. it creates a new reality and stimulates the production of new content on Russia, Russian foreign policy and policy on the development of the eastern territories. Statements about the Chinese threat cannot be attributed to any ideology and, due to their high political potential, can be mobilized by any political forces. Three variants of the Chinese dystopia of Russia's eastern regions can be distinguished: 1) China has already secretly occupied these territories, 2) Russia is gradually losing these territories, and 3) China is preparing a rapid military invasion of Russia's border regions. The propagators of the China threat do not focus on China, the Far East, or Siberia. They create a completely different subject - either the Russian state with a dysfunctional central government and corrupt bureaucracy, or the enemies of the Russian state, including the Russian opposition. China is at best imagined as an ideal Other that enjoys geopolitical advantages over a weak neighbor due to the cohesion and industriousness of the nation, the capacity of the government and good leadership, i.e., all the characteristics that the video's authors believe Russia lacks.