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Russia's China Ties Spur Boom in Learning Mandarin

Russia's China Ties Spur Boom in Learning Mandarin

Bloomberg4 days ago
A boom in learning Mandarin, including in President Vladimir Putin's family, has become a stark example of Russia's continued pivot toward China and away from ties with the West.
Amid a rise in job postings requiring the language, a surge in Chinese classes and new study abroad opportunities, one unique strategy that's been employed by some of Russia's elite has been to hire nannies from China. In the last three years, demand for Mandarin-speaking nannies has spiked, well overtaking French- and German-speakers to fall second only to English, said Valentin Grogol, the head of English Nanny, a company that places foreign caregivers with Russian families.
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