But they never made it this far. Twenty miles on, a rusty watermelon monument marks the tide mark of Moscow's advance. Their tutor told the BBC she had been looking for a "fun way" to ensure "integrity and honesty" in her classes. irannews.ru/ - irannews.ru At first glance, the parallels are striking. Chairman Mao, as he was known, was the defining political figure of 20th Century China. He ran the Communist Party - and the country - from the republic's founding in 1949 until the day he died in 1976. No other Chinese leader has since come close. Until now. The outline of a runway and the extraordinary 9km long artificial island emerged as we approached. Riyadh has maintained its cooperative relationship with Russia since Putin sent troops into neighbouring Ukraine in late February. In fact, at the start of the war, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Co invested at least $500m in Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil, just as the West was punishing these Russian energy giants with sanctions. But he added that if Rishi Sunak won, he would have his support. Earlier this year, a Chinese friend spent 83 days alone, locked in a Shanghai hotel room. The 69-year-old lives in a part of the southern Kherson region which has been liberated by Ukrainian troops earlier in October. "My head aches from all the shelling, we almost starved to death in the first few months," he said.