Sino-US relations were foremost on Russian observers’ minds in the autumn of 2020, both before and after Joe Biden’s election victory. Anti-Chinese sentiments in the post-Soviet space drew attention, as did China’s troubling discourse about the Arctic and talk of the Arctic-Pacific as a construct—a new way of showcasing Russia’s centrality. India was another focus of attention, given both its warmer attitude toward the Quad and the search for understanding of its historical memory. With Abe departed in Japan, his legacy and prospects for Russo-Japanese relations were of interest. There was also some notice taken of the stalled condition of Putin’s “turn to the East.” China’s assertive moves were raising new doubts. Past popular themes such as Greater Eurasia, the docking of the EEU and BRI, and the Korean Peninsula were less visible.

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