ABSTRACT
Both the creeping democratization in China and the consolidation of democratization in Russia have confronted the national identity question and the rise of nationalism. Perhaps the most salient and pressing problem in Russia and China is the maintenance of national boundaries and an integral state. This reflects both the underlying fears of foreign incursions, secessionist wars and crippling border disputes, and a rather tenuous current relationship between the centers and the peripheries in both countries. Russian nationalism is a stronger version of irredentism than Chinese pan-nationalism, for the former wants to reclaim the territories of the former Soviet Union, while the latter only insists on the unification with Taiwan. Ethnic problems in both countries, but particularly in Russia, are further complicated by different population growth rates. The post-Soviet elite has emerged divided on the issues of democratization, economic strategies and national boundaries. The tide of nationalism sweeping Russia was said to threaten the fragile independence of former Soviet republics.
