The aim of this article is to show evolution of how the Kremlin politics is perceived in Germany within two first decades of the XXI century. Moreover, the central idea of this article is to separate five key or even critical points of this period.
The paradigm has been described in perspective of perceiving the Russian politics by German public opinion. The public opinion is a set of opinions about important and actual affairs, especially concerning national politics, within a particular society. The public opinion about a particular matter is often identified with a prevailing opinion in mass media. Media information has become the main data source for analysis of the discussed matter.
The first stage was assigned in the year 2000 when Vladimir Putin won the presidential elections in Russia. His victory was not so indubitable at that time. Bilateral relations got strategic character then. The culminating point was the Russian president’s pronouncement in Bundestag in 2001.
When Angela Merkel succeeded chancellorship in 2005, the Russian politics started to be perceived critically. That was the beginning of the second stage of perceiving the Kremlin politics by Germany. Atmosphere of the bilateral relations got worse then. A clear sign of it was the Vladimir Putin pronouncement during the 43. Security Conference. In Germany the pronouncement was considered as the beginning of a new cold war in the Kremlin politics.
The third stage took place between 2008 and 2014. Until 2012 – when the next Russian presidential elections took place – Vladimir Putin had shared the power creating a kind of a leadership tandem with Dmitry Medvedev. This acting was considered as delusive in Germany. The turn in perceiving the Russian politics in Germany happened in 2014 when president Putin made use of the political crisis in Ukraine to annex Crimea. It was an acute change that closed the third and started the fourth stage of perceiving the Kremlin politics by Germany. It was characterized by intense crisis.
A final part of the fourth stage was the Vladimir Putin’s proclamation on the Federal Assembly on the 1 III 2018. It was a prelude to the fifth stage that lasts until today. It happened mainly due to its consequences for internal politics in the context of the presidential elections in Russia planned on the 18 III 2018. The elections as well as swearing in the fourth Angela Merkel cabinet on the 14 III 2018 were a clear border in perceiving the Russian politics in Germany. The bilateral relations were revived after it.
