Mao died lonely, as he had lived in recent years. He was sent off as the greatest Marxist, the greatest revolutionary, the greatest in everything man can imagine. But historical figures don't die just once
Great changes began in 1956, and from then on, for the next twenty years, China lived in a state of frenzy, high temperatures and destructive chaos, invented theories, utopian unrealizable visions, economic collapse, hunger and never-ending political confrontations. The main creator of the chaos was Mao Zedong
Mao was ill for a long time. He could neither speak nor move. This was known and talked about even though there was no official information. His old meetings with various statesmen were replayed on TV every day. Earlier articles were read on the radio. All correspondents had a text prepared in advance when the news arrived. The "South China" correspondent had an excellent, simple headline: "The Red Sun Has Set." I wrote that Mao was both the father and the son of the Chinese revolutionary nation. I failed to say: and the holy spirit. That spirit still roams China after fifty years
As far as China is concerned, the announced visit to Washington, whenever it comes, is part of China's accommodation strategy. In recent months, Beijing has been sending signals that it wants less ideological confrontation and more economic development. Xi Jinping is increasingly personally engaged in contacts with large private Chinese entrepreneurs, including those who were previously pushed out of the foreground. This indicates that the priority is once again economic growth. If that assessment is correct, China will try to achieve stable competition with Trump and prevent a new economic escalation
China is entering the Year of the Fire Horse - the first time in sixty years since the disastrous Cultural Revolution began in the year of the same name. The fiery horse then went out of control, demolishing everything in its path and leaving millions of victims in its wake. Will Xi Jinping tighten the reins?
While in the West there is speculation about "missing generals", in Beijing the role of party supervision and the way of controlling the army is actually being redefined. It is not just a purge, but a gradual process of transferring control mechanisms from humans to algorithms. Artificial intelligence is becoming a key loyalty filter among both military and civilian leaders
Mao shaped the army as a political school, and Xi Jinping turned it into a technological laboratory - but with the old message that the army must obey the party. It is a pillar of the regime, a guarantor of internal stability and the president's personal power. That is why the military pyramid is strictly centralized, and the top is regularly searched
Aleksandar Novačić's latest novel Solzhenitsyn: Odysseus from the Gulag was published at the end of July in Belgrade, by the publishing house Logos. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the USSR fifty years ago, and his citizenship was revoked. After 20 years, like Odysseus of old, he returned to his plundered Ithaca where suitors vied for the hand of his beloved Penelope, Russia. The weekly "Vreme" transmits the most interesting parts of the novel, with the permission of the author and publisher
Aleksandar Novačić's latest novel Solzhenitsyn: Odysseus from the Gulag was published at the end of July in Belgrade, by the publishing house Logos. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the USSR fifty years ago, and his citizenship was revoked. After 20 years, like Odysseus of old, he returned to his plundered Ithaca where suitors vied for the hand of his beloved Penelope, Russia. The weekly "Vreme" transmits the most interesting parts of the novel, with the permission of the author and publisher
Aleksandar Novačić's latest novel Solzhenitsyn: Odysseus from the Gulag was published at the end of July in Belgrade, by the publishing house Logos
Aleksandar Novačić's latest novel Solzhenitsyn: Odysseus from the Gulag was published at the end of July in Belgrade, by the publishing house Logos. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the USSR fifty years ago, and his citizenship was revoked. After 20 years, like Odysseus of old, he returned to his plundered Ithaca where suitors vied for the hand of his beloved Penelope, Russia. In the following issues, "Vreme" will convey the most interesting parts of the novel, with the permission of the author and publisher
When the Chinese president leaves Beijing, it is followed all over the world. In France, Macron took him to Provence, to the village where he once grew up with his grandmother. Xi Jinping listened carefully to the sentimental story and understood that the French president through the conversation head-à-head wants to strengthen personal relationships in a private, more intimate tone. In contrast to France, in Serbia, Xi Jinping was greeted noisily, somewhat in the North Korean style: already at the airport, he was greeted by a crowd of people, and the next day, tens of thousands were brought to see him on the balcony. In Hungary, the Chinese president felt the old charm of Austro-Hungarian hospitality
According to polls by the Levada Center, 25 percent of those polled spoke positively about Stalin 20 years ago, and in 2023 that percentage reached 67 percent. The XNUMXth anniversary of Lenin's death went unnoticed in Moscow - they say that the Moscow zoo has more visitors than the mausoleum of the founder of the USSR. And, in the words of Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong Thought represents "the precious spiritual wealth of the Party"
It can be said that China is neutral in the Ukrainian conflict, but with understanding for the Russian side. Although the trade exchange between China and Russia increased by 26 percent last year, it is still almost three times smaller than the trade exchange with the US, despite the US sanctions.
Half a century ago, the leaders of the time - Mao and Zhu Enlai, and Nixon and Kissinger - found a solution for Sino-American relations with a brave and extraordinary strategic vision and started the process of cooperation. History does not repeat itself, but something similar could happen now. China and the US are at a crossroads again, and both sides need to take advantage of the chance they still have
