Main stages in the development of Chinese cultural diplomacy in the USSR (1949-1966)

The article describes the cultural diplomacy of the PRC towards the USSR from 1949 to 1966, i.e. from the formation of the PRC to the actual curtailment of all contacts between the two countries. Internal and external dimensions of the relations are considered. On the one hand, cultural diplomacy was conducted within China itself in order to create a stable internal environment for the development of the state and to form a positive image of the USSR in the country. Beijing used cultural exchanges with the USSR in order to get closer to Moscow and study the experience of the USSR in building a socialist state and society. On the other hand, through cultural diplomacy China was promoting a positive image of the PRC in the USSR, which was designed to strengthen bilateral relations. The author concludes that the population-level perceptions of each other's culture formed in the period under consideration paved the way for friendly relations between Russia and China today, decades later.