ABSTRACT
This chapter sheds some light on images of China in Russia today, analyzing mainly contemporary fantastic novels (fantastika) in which a remarkable role is allocated to the eastern neighbor. The first and second sections focus on several important topics in the imperial and early Soviet eras so as to have an understanding of the historical background. One of the key issues is the dispute between Westernizers and Slavophiles, which played a role in creating archetypal images. 1 In the main third section we compare transforming variations of images of China in contemporary Russian novels in the 2000s, and analyze the Chinese mirror in which the complicated relationship between Russia, Europe and Asia is reflected.
