The Russian-Chinese border is one of the longest land borders in the world, but in modern historiography it receives undeservedly little attention. Trying to fill this gap, Søren Urbanski in his book considers the formation and change of the contours of the border in a long chronological perspective, starting from the 17th century - the time of the existence of the frontier territory without a clearly established demarcation - and ending with the 20th century, when the border line acquired geopolitical significance and turned into a tightly patrolled barrier. Narrating the daily life of communities on the Russian-Chinese border, the author demonstrates how states managed to impose control over kinship, cultural, economic and religious ties on both sides of the border through legislative measures, deportations, forced assimilation and propaganda. Søren Urbanski is a historian, fellow at the German Historical Institute in Washington, and director of its branch at the University of California, Berkeley.