„Sonderzug nach Moskau“ by Bastian Matteo Scianna published by C.H. Beck

Bastian Matteo Scianna’s latest book focuses on German foreign policy towards Russia since 1990. Successive German governments have been under no illusions that Russian imperialism had never disappeared. Under Kohl, Schröder and Merkel the relationship was always sober, pragmatic and interest-driven - not least because there was an understanding in Berlin that Germany could not fundamentally alter the course of the Kremlin, even if it wanted to. The hope that interdependence would lead not just to stability in Russia but also to a deeper change and liberalization was, however, authentic. This explains why the Kohl administration was willing to pay huge sums to help stabilize Russia during the tumultuous 1990s, and why the Schröder Administration, after a period of critical introspection, embarks on a policy of engagement towards Moscow. The author calls this a “policy of interdependence without reassurance”. Time and time again the Germans try to placate Russia in the interest of European security and stability - culminating in the veto against Georgian and Ukrainian NATO membership in 2008. Also, Berlin was never alone in this endeavor, with Southern EU members and notably France also trying to lower tensions with Russia. These illusions have now been shattered, but they were neither a German specificity (Sonderweg), nor a Western ploy to humiliate Russia.