Ishayev, in power since 1991, has sought close cooperation with central authorities. But he says power-sharing agreements between Moscow and regional authorities would enable local governments to keep a larger share of tax revenues. Vera said in a typical reaction. Such fears are fueled by the sense of isolation often felt by Russia's Far Eastern population, who number some 10 million people, while hundreds of million live within China's northern provinces. Even Ishayev says Beijing aims to settle its surplus population in the Russian Far East and is waiting for Russia to allow the sale of land.
Chinese officials deny the charge.
While it is tricky to come up with concrete figures of Chinese immigration, Khabarovsk officials say up to one million people, mostly Chinese, cross the region's border in both directions every year. There has also been past suspicion of other Asians among Russians in the Far East. There were once hundreds of thousands of ethnic Koreans in the Russian Far East, until the Soviet dictator Stalin deported them to Kazakhstan.