Residents of Irkutsk have hinted to Putin that they wouldn't mind joining China
Residents of the Berezovy neighborhood in the Irkutsk Region of the Russian Federation recorded an official video appeal to Vladimir Putin regarding the lack of promised educational infrastructure and suggested seeking assistance from China.
The Russians complain that construction of the single school has effectively stalled, and regional authorities are ignoring their numerous complaints.
Due to their government’s inability to complete the project, the Siberians expressed their willingness to learn Chinese in exchange for foreign funding.
Over the past five years, residents of the neighborhood have repeatedly written to the Russian president demanding a solution to the critical shortage of schools and kindergartens.
The current shortage of preschools creates serious difficulties for families, who are forced to transport their children to neighboring towns.
Complaints and official letters addressed to regional authorities and Governor Igor Kobzev have yielded no results.
As of February 13, 2026, the school, which local authorities had promised to open by 2021, is only about 20% complete.
Construction of a kindergarten in Berezove was also completely halted about two years ago due to a lack of funding.
In their appeal, residents emphasize that they do not understand how the state plans to increase the birth rate under such conditions.
The Russians proposed initiating an appeal to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, asking him to request assistance directly from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
They hope that Beijing will be able to finance the construction of neglected facilities in Siberia.
In return, Russian citizens declare their utmost loyalty to the neighboring communist state and their willingness to adapt to its cultural interests.
“We are ready to start learning Chinese, as we consider it truly necessary, and the active development of cultural ties with China—perhaps the only path to development,” residents of the Irkutsk region stated in their video appeal.
They added that the Russian Federation’s priorities are currently skewed toward large-scale infrastructure projects in the capital and international programs, while local regional issues remain neglected.
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