About the book: 2002 / 2002, the beginning of the 3rd millennium, a time of turning point, a global redistribution of influence in the international arena. Secret and obvious rivalry between Great China and Great Russia. Siberia, XVII century. Who doesn’t lay claim to these endless spaces? Mongols, Kyrgyz, Chinese...Why didn’t Great China crush the rich Siberian lands then? What do these centuries have in common and what connects modern Russia with the events in Siberia of those centuries? Loops of history, tied into knots of wars, past and future. The action in V. Antonov’s book develops fascinatingly. Meetings in China, meetings in Moscow. Kidnapping of a deputy, showdown between the Russian and Chinese mafia in Krasnoyarsk. Confrontation and cooperation. The roots of the present go back to the past. The Chinese are in no hurry. Their time is measured in centuries. No matter how much the string twists... The Russians are in no hurry either. At first. They take a closer look... And then it turns out that the Chinese noose is too thin for the Russian neck.