Chinese Outraged as Putin Ally Vows to 'Subjugate' Russia's Neighbors

Ultranationalist Russian media personality Sergey Mardan sparked anger on Chinese social media with his on-air remark that Russia must subdue its neighbors.

"A funny story: Russian propaganda TV host Mardan claimed, 'Russia is a military empire. It always expands and subjugates her neighbors,'" European Resilience Initiative Center founder Sergej Sumlenny wrote in his translation of the comment on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. "He did not think that Chinese listened, translated, and published this in China."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, declared a "no-limits partnership" shortly before the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Since then, Moscow has increasingly relied on trade with China, particularly its demand for oil and natural gas, to keep the Russian economy afloat amid heavy international sanctions.

Beijing maintains it is neutral regarding the conflict but has largely censored criticism of the war on Chinese social media.

"Russia is an empire, and an empire can only be a military state. And a military state must fight," said Mardan, who has previously expressed nostalgia for czarist Russia, whose territory encompassed Ukraine and several other modern states.

"It [Russia] must make the surrounding barbarians submit or be pacified, he said, warning the country would itself "be pacified...if we aren't strong enough economically, militarily, politically, and demographically."

The Saturday Mardan host's comments caused a stir on China's X-like social media platform Weibo, with many netizens taking offense.

"Without China's support, Russia would have collapsed in this war," one wrote.

"Russia has no friends. Oh—Iran and North Korea," another quipped.

One Weibo user said Mardan's comment "speaks to the heart of Russians, who basically see themselves as Europeans and are looking down on Asians."

"Tsarist Russia and the USSR were really unfriendly [toward China], and the decaying Russia is fine, I guess," another said.

Other commenters seemed to have a more realist view of Beijing-Moscow ties.

"It's normal for great powers to take precautions against each other," one wrote.

"Does anyone in power really believe China and Russia have been friends for generations? We just have the same [national] interests now," said another.

Newsweek reached out with written requests for comment to the Russian Foreign Ministry and Chinese Embassy in Russia.

Mardan is known for his bellicose remarks, prompting a group of human rights organizations to file a submission to the International Criminal Court over his alleged incitement to violence toward Ukrainians.

As the war in Ukraine approached its two-year anniversary in February, the TV personality characterized the Russian people as "aggressors" and "cruel," saying they "always come back for what's theirs."

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