Friday 07 December, 2001
The Uneasy Bear
Ten years after Soviet Communism collapsed, Russia's Far East remains one of the country's most under-developed regions. Its vast natural resources are being plundered for export. Its people are dependent on Chinese industry for consumer goods, yet fearful of what they believe are Beijing's expansionist plans. Investment from Japan is still hampered by the lack of a formal peace treaty wh Tokyo. And the legacy of seven decades of communist rule makes it hard for Russian Far Easterners to emulate the economic dynamism of their neighbours. In a series of special reports from Vladivostok, Francis Markus examines the identity, the problems and the potential of this region unique in East Asia.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Far East has increasingly turned towards Asia. But do people there feel Russian or Asian?
Urban waste blights the landscape in Vladivostok, while across the region huge tracts of pristine forest is under threat. Francis Markus goes on the trail of the illegal loggers
Who controls the drugs trade in the Russian Far East. The finger points to North Korea, among others. It's still a trickle, not a flood - but could it get worse?
The Russian Far East lags well behind its Asian neighbours, and even the rest of Russia. Can Vladivostok become Russia's Hong Kong?
Russians love buying cheap Chinese goods, but they fear and mistrust the Chinese. Francis Markus heads for the market to talk to Russian and Chinese traders about their attitudes to each other.
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