The ChineseFirst language centre co-founder Wang Yinyu teaches a Chinese class for adults, in the town of Reutov, outside Moscow, on March 17, 2023. - Pummelled by multiple rounds of Western sanctions, Russia's economic and technological development is becoming increasingly dependent on China. The explosion in demand for Chinese lessons in Russia illustrates the country's pivot toward Asia, as tensions rage between Moscow and the West. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP)