The Chinese Soviet Studies in 21st Century. Part 2

In the 21st century, due to the further declassification and publication of historical archives in Russia, Chinese historians began to actively develop research on the history of the USSR. A large number of Russian archival documents were translated into Chinese, and the level of research increased significantly. In the course of more than 20 years, Chinese historians have put forward many distinctive concepts and opinions on a number of issues, including the political and economic system of the USSR, social problems of Soviet society, the Cold War, Sino-Soviet relations, and the collapse of the USSR, among others. At the same time, the number of young scholars was growing rapidly. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that there are also shortcomings in Chinese historiography. For example, the lack of ‘problem consciousness’ limits many studies to specific events, people, and descriptions of the course of events. This prevents in-depth analyses of social essence, structural relations, ideology, and other crucial issues. Chinese historians also lack exchange and contact with the international academic world. Currently, Chinese research on the history of the USSR is hampered by China’s closed archival policy and the difficulty of publishing articles and monographs on the USSR. One cannot but recognize that Chinese research has potential and its own foundation. However, Chinese scholars need to make more efforts to further improve the scientific level. It is also important to further improve the scientific environment and conditions in China. The first part of the paper is devoted to Chinese historiography on the foreign policy of the USSR.