That August, construction workers in Qiqihar mistakenly ruptured mustard gas canisters left from the wartime Japanese occupation, injuring dozens and killing at least one.

Russia s unilateral annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine have ruptured its relations with the West, and Putin has intentionally recreated a Cold War atmosphere by touting Russia s conservative values as an ideological counterweight to the American led liberal world order.