Board Thread:Timeline Discussions/@comment-4843137-20140519231050/@comment-9888263-20180401235848

It's mostly a policy of having good survival ground. Cities like Krasnoyarsk and Ulan-Ude, which weren't destroyed, were not unimportant in the creation of this.

Mongolia and the Uyghurs joined because there was no other good choice. Staying independent would mean insecurity.

Northern China was lawless, the Chinese would probably embrace the help they get from Siberia. As for Gansu/PRC? Gansu is really poor and underdeveloped. No match for anyone, in this case. Siberia does so well because it had strategic areas not be destroyed. ​