On the face of it, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have a lot in common. Both are ageing all-powerful national leaders, both are survivors of the 20 century’s communist-led revolutions, and both are looking to create legacy projects worthy of their grand ambitions. That means righting wrongs imposed by the past victories of Western intruders and restoring what was lost to the mistakes and misfortunes of predecessors. Both men are now determined to make right what they see as the wrongs of history and restore the influence that their predecessors lacked the will to preserve. Anal…
