Introduction
My contribution is different from most of the other members' in that my focus is rather specific. It is nevertheless linked to others along the theme of contemporary Irkutsk. In simpler terms, my work deals with education, namely higher education. I asked why Russian students decide to study Chinese. Just for economic reasons, or is there something else? In general, I would say that it would be better for Russia if there were various types of motivation, because in that case, connections appear in many areas, not only in the business sector. I also wanted to ask Chinese students studying in Irkutsk why they chose to study at ISU.
So, how to find answers? In the end I decided to adopt the most efficient method. Since most of the students had already gone on vacation for the summer, I prepared a list of questions and sent them to the students via e-mail. I received 13 responses from Russians and 10 responses from Chinese students.