Germany–Russia relations
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German–Russian relations have a long and shifting history, ranging from cooperation and even alliance to strain and to total warfare. Since the end of the Cold War and German reunification, Germany and Russia have developed a "Strategic Partnership" in which energy is indisputably one of the most important factors. Germany and Russia depend on each other for energy, namely in Germany's need for energy from Russia and Russia's need for heavy German investment to develop its energy infrastructure.
According to a 2013 BBC World Service poll, only 12% of Germans view Russia's influence positively, with 61% expressing a negative view. Russians, however, have a much more positive view of Germany than Germans do of Russia, with 55% viewing Germany's influence positively and 10% negatively.[1]
History
Early history
The earliest contact between Germans and Slavs is unknown. Substantive contact goes back to the Teutonic Knights' campaigns in the Baltic.
Russia before the mid 18th century was aloof from German affairs, while Germany was divided into numerous small states under the nominal leadership of the Holy Roman Emperor.
After the Great Northern War with Sweden, however, Russia's power spread into the Baltic.
Prussia and Russia
With the creation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and the proclamation of the Russian Empire in 1721, two powerful new states emerged that began to interact.
They fought on opposite sides during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), but the war saw both grow in power. Russia defeated Sweden and Prussia defeated Austria. Russia and Prussia again were at odds during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) and fought the battles of Gross-Jägersdorf, Zorndorf, Kay and Kunersdorf. However, when Russian Tsar Peter III came to power, he made peace with Prussia by signing the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, saving Prussian King Frederick the Great from imminent defeat and allowing him to concentrate on his other enemies.
Prussia and Russia in agreement with Austria then cooperated to carve up Poland-Lithuania between them in 1772, 1793, and 1795.
Both Russia and Prussia had absolute monarchies that reacted sharply against the French Revolution and were part of the coalition against the new French regime during the French Revolutionary Wars and later the Napoleonic Wars. Prussia was shaken by the Revolutions of 1848 but was able to withstand the revolutionaries' call to war against Russia. Prussia did go to war with Denmark, however, and was only stopped by British and Russian pressure.
Prussia's successes in the Wars of German Unification owed much to Russia's lack of involvement. The creation of the German Empire, however, greatly changed the relations between the two countries.
The German and Russian Empires
Earlier on it seemed as if the two great empires would be strong allies. German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck formed the League of Three Emperors in 1872 binding together Russia, Austria, and Germany. The League stated that republicanism and socialism were common enemies and that the three powers would discuss any matters concerning foreign policy. Bismarck needed good relations with Russia in order to keep France isolated. In 1877–1878, Russia fought a victorious war with the Ottoman Empire and attempted to impose the Treaty of San Stefano on it. This upset the British in particular, as they were long concerned with preserving the Ottoman Empire and preventing a Russian takeover of the Bosphorus Strait. Germany hosted the Congress of Berlin (1878), whereby a more moderate peace settlement was agreed to. Germany had no direct interest in the Balkans, however, which was largely an Austrian and Russian sphere of influence.
In 1879, Bismarck formed a Dual Alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary, with the aim of mutual military assistance in the case of an attack from Russia, which was not satisfied with the agreement reached at the Congress of Berlin. The establishment of the Dual Alliance led Russia to take a more conciliatory stance, and in 1887, the so-called Reinsurance Treaty was signed between Germany and Russia: in it, the two powers agreed on mutual military support in the case that France attacked Germany, or in case of an Austrian attack on Russia. Russia turned its attention eastward to Asia and remained largely inactive in European politics for the next 25 years.[2]
Germany was somewhat worried about Russia's potential industrialization—it had far more potential soldiers—while Russia feared Germany's already established industrial power. In 1907 Russia went into a coalition with Britain and France, the Triple Entente.[3]
The ultimate result of this was that Russia and Germany became enemies in World War I. The Eastern Front saw Germany successful, as the czarist system collapsed in 1917. The Bolsheviks came to power in the Russian Revolution of 1917. The new regime signed the Treaty of Brest Litovsk which was highly advantageous to Germany, although it was reversed when Germany was defeated by the Allies in November 1918.[4]
The interwar years
After the peace treaties that ended the Great War, the newly created states of the Weimar Republic and the Soviet Union both found themselves outcasts in the international system and gravitated toward each other.[5]
The coming to power in 1933 of Adolf Hitler and the creation of the Nazi state with its virulent anti-Semitic and anti-Communist rhetoric made for extremely hostile propaganda in both directions. Nazi propaganda, across Europe and Latin America, focused on warnings against Jewish and Bolshevik threats emanating from Moscow.[6] The Comintern, representing Moscow's international Communist network, moved to a Popular Front approach after 1934, allowing the Communists worldwide to cooperate with socialists, intellectuals and workers on the left in opposing Fascism. The worldwide left-wing support for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) proved of enormous aid to the Communist cause. Germany and the Soviets both sent military forces and advisors into Spain, as did Italy.[7]
The Spanish Civil War was in part a proxy war. The Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco and the Republican government fought it out for the control of the country. Militarily, the Nationalists usually had the upper had and they won in the end. Germany sent in the Condor Legion comprising elite air and tank units to the Nationalist forces. The Soviet Union sent military and political advisors, and sold munitions in support of the "Loyalist," or Republican, side. The Comintern helped Communist parties around the world sent in volunteers to the International Brigades that fought for the Loyalists.[8]
In August 1939 the two totalitarian states stunned the world by coming to a major agreement the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. They agreed to invade and partition Poland and divided up Eastern Europe. The Soviets provided Germany with oil and reversed the anti-Nazi rhetoric of Communist parties around the world.[9]
World War II
In 1941 it was Russia's turn, yet Joseph Stalin refused to believe the multiple warnings of a German invasion. Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941, captured or destroyed multiple Soviet armies, and reached the gates of Moscow by December. Stalin fought back and forged close relations with Britain and the United States, both of which provided large amounts of munitions.[10]
The Eastern Front became the horrendous ideological and race war with many millions killed, including prisoners of war and Jews. It was perhaps the bloodiest conflict in human history.[11]
After the War: the Soviet Union and the Two German States
The defeat of Germany by the Soviets and the Western allies eventually led to the occupation and partition of Germany and the expulsions of most ethnic-Germans from Soviet-conquered areas.
The creation of West Germany and East Germany complicated relations. West Germany initially tried to claim that it was the only German state and the East was illegitimate and under the Hallstein Doctrine refused to have relation with any socialist state except the Soviet Union itself. This policy eventually gave way to Ostpolitik, under which West Germany recognized the East.
Gorbachev gave up on trying to support the deeply unpopular East German government.[12][13] After the Revolutions of 1989 and the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany was allowed to reunite by the World War II Allies. The Communist regime in East Germany collapsed and the country became part of West Germany. One issue was the presence of large numbers of Soviet troops; West Germany paid for their repatriation for housing them in the USSR.[14]
Federal Republic of Germany and the Russian Federation
Relations between the two nations since the fall of Communism in 1991 have been generally good but not always without tension. German chancellor Gerhard Schröder placed high value on relations with Russia and worked for the completion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline between them. His successor Angela Merkel, an Easterner and former dissident, has been more critical and clashed with Russian president Vladimir Putin over human rights and other issues.[15] Mrs. Merkel had however a very good relationship with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The Lufthansa cargo hub dispute took place in 2007.
Human rights issues
The relations between the two countries got strained in the turn of the first decade as the German authorities criticized the parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia, then started to regularly give negative assessments of the changes taking place in the country. The coordinator of the German government on cooperation with the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the ruling Christian Democratic Union in the Bundestag, Andreas Schockenhoff, criticized the new Russian laws on rallies and NGOs, the return of the defamation article to the Russian Criminal Code, as well as the trial of Pussy Riot. In response the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Schockenhoff of using "smear tactics". German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle then said that Berlin would be "very closely" monitoring the actions of the Russian authorities in the field of human rights. "The partnership relations do not imply the rejection of criticism", warned Westerwelle.[16]
Germans in Russia
Since German reunification Germany is home to a fast growing and large community of people of German ancestry who have moved to Germany as full citizens. In the 1990s, some 100,000 to 200,000 arrived annually.[17] Germany also has funded the communities that remain behind in Russia.[18]
Co-operation
- Germany and Russia have frequent exchange of visits on the political, economic and cultural agenda. Russia regards Germany as its leading European partner, and is an important trading partner for Germany.
- Germany and Russia are co-operating in building the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
- Many former East Germans have a good command of the Russian language and considerable knowledge about Russia. The German language is in a firm second place (behind English) at Russian schools. President Putin speaks German at a near-native level, Chancellor Merkel speaks Russian fluently and both leaders also have a strong command of English. On 11 April 2005, a "Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership in Education, Research and Innovation" was signed by Chancellor Schröder and President Putin. This accord aims at stepping up bilateral cooperation in the education sector, particularly in training specialist and executive personnel.
- Germany has a heavy industry with the size and capacity to modernize infrastructure in Russia. Russia in turn has vast natural resources which are of significant interest to the German economy.
- A major success in environment policy is Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on 27 October 2004, which will also bring economic benefits.
- Germany was a strong supporter for Russia's participation in the Group of 8.
- Dresdner Bank of Germany has close ties to Gazprom, by far Russia's largest industrial company.
- Germany alongside with France and Russia opposed Ukrainian and Georgian invitation to NATO during NATO's Bucharest summit in 2008. Consequently, NATO didn't invite Ukraine and Georgia to MAP.
See also
- Russia in the European energy sector
- Soviet-German relations before 1941
References
- ↑ 2013 World Service Poll BBC
- ↑ Weitsman, Patricia A. (2004), Dangerous alliances: proponents of peace, weapons of war, p. 79
- ↑ Bernadotte Schmitt, Triple Alliance and Triple Entente (1971)
- ↑ Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius (2010). The German Myth of the East: 1800 to the Present. Oxford University Press. pp. 145–48.
- ↑ Hans Mommsen (1998). The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy. U of North Carolina Press. p. 122.
- ↑ Lorna L. Waddington, "The Anti-Komintern and Nazi Anti-Bolshevik Propaganda in the 1930s," Journal of Contemporary History, (2007) 42#4 pp. 573-94 in JSTOR
- ↑ Archie Brown (2009). The Rise and Fall of Communism. Doubleday Canada. pp. 88–89.
- ↑ Michael Alpert, A New International History of the Spanish Civil War (2nd ed. 2004)excerpt and text search
- ↑ Donald Cameron Watt, How War Came, The Immediate Origins of the Second World War 1938-1939 (1989) ch 24-25
- ↑ John Mosier, Hitler vs. Stalin: The Eastern Front, 1941-1945 (2011)
- ↑ Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2011)
- ↑ Patrick Salmon et al. eds. (2009). German Unification 1989-90: Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series III. Taylor & Francis. pp. 53–.
- ↑ James Mann (2009). The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War. Penguin. p. 279.
- ↑ Charles S. Maier (2001). Dissolution: The Crisis of Communism and the End of East Germany. Princeton University Press. pp. 281–2.
- ↑ Landler, Mark (May 22, 2007). "Putin Prompts Split in German Coalition". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-17. "Germany’s relations with Russia were never likely to be as cozy under Angela Merkel as under her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, who adopted a 3-year-old Russian girl and, on his 60th birthday, invited President Vladimir V. Putin home to celebrate."
- ↑ "Russia's relations with Germany worsening". Itar Tass. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
- ↑ Wayne Cornelius et al., eds.; Takeyuki Tsuda; Philip Martin; James Hollifield (2004). Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective (2nd ed.). Stanford University Press. p. 235.
- ↑ John Mcgarry (2006). European Integration and the Nationalities Question. Taylor & Francis. pp. 150–51.
Further reading
- Berkhoff, Karel C. Harvest of Despair: Life and Death in Ukraine under Nazi Rule (Belknap, 2004)
- Beyrau, Dietrich, and Mark Keck-Szajbel. "Mortal Embrace: Germans and (Soviet) Russians in the First Half of the 20th Century," Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, Volume 10, Number 3, Summer 2009 pp. 423–439 doi:10.1353/kri.0.0113
- David-Fox, Michael, Peter Holquist, and Alexander M. Martin, eds. Fascination and Enmity: Russia and Germany as Entangled Histories, 1914-1945 (U. of Pittsburgh Press; 2012) 392 pages; considers the perceptions and misperceptions on both sides
- Dulian, A. "The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact: Historical Background," International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations, 2009, Vol. 55 Issue 6, pp 181–187
- Dyck, Harvey L. Weimar Germany and Soviet Russia, 1926-1933 (1984)
- Geyer, Michael, and Sheila Fitzpatrick, eds. Beyond Totalitarianism: Stalinism and Nazism Compared (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
- Haslam, Jonathan. "Soviet-German Relations and the Origins of the Second World War: The Jury is Still Out," Journal of Modern History, 79 (1997), pp. 785–97 in JSTOR
- Kuklick, Bruce American Policy and the Division of Germany: The Clash with Russia over Reparations (Cornell U. Press, 1972)
- Leach, Barry A. German Strategy Against Russia, 1939-41 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973)
- Liulevicius, Vejas Gabriel. War on the Eastern Front: Culture, National Identity, and German Occupation in World War I (Cambridge University Press, 2000)
- Naimark, Norman M. The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949 (1997)
- Overy, Richard. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia (2005)
- Roberts, Geoffrey. The Soviet Union and the Origins of the Second World War: Russo-German Relations and the Road to War, 1933-41 (1995)
- Salzmann, Stephanie. Great Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union: Rapallo and after, 1922-1934 (2002)
- Stent, Angela. Russia and Germany Reborn (2000) on 1990s
- Taylor, A.J.P. The Struggle for Master in Europe: 1848-1918 (1954), a broad overview of the diplomacy of all the major powers
- Watt, Donald Cameron. How War Came: The Immediate Origins of the Second World War; 1938-1939 (1989), pp. 361–84, 447-61.
- Weinberg, Gerhard L. Germany and the Soviet Union 1939-1941 (1972)
- Williamson, Jr., Samuel R. and Ernest R. May. "An Identity of Opinion: Historians and July 1914," Journal of Modern History, June 2007, Vol. 79 Issue 2, pp 335–387 in JSTOR
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Political relations of Germany and Russia. |
- Petersburger Dialogue (in German and Russian only)
- Bergedorfer Round Table
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