Germany–Russia relations

{{Infobox bilateral relations|Germany–Russia|Germany|Russia|map=Germany Russia Locator.svg|filetype=svg|mission1=[[Embassy of Germany, Moscow]]|mission2=[[Embassy of Russia, Berlin]]}}

[[File:Vladimir Putin and Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2017-10-25) 02.jpg|thumb|German President [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]] during conversation with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]], 25 October 2017]] '''Germany–Russia relations''' display cyclical patterns, moving back and forth from cooperation and alliance to strain and to total warfare. Historian [[John Wheeler-Bennett]] says that since the 1740s: :Relations between Russia and Germany have been a series of alienations, distinguished for their bitterness, and of rapprochements, remarkable for their warmth. A cardinal factor in the relationship has been the existence of an independent Poland. When separated by a buffer state, the two great Powers of eastern Europe have been friendly, whereas a contiguity of frontiers has bred hostility.<ref>John W. Wheeler-Bennett, "Twenty Years of Russo-German Relations: 1919-1939" ''Foreign Affairs'' 25#1 (1946), pp. 23-43. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20030017 online]</ref>

[[Otto von Bismarck]] established the [[League of the Three Emperors]] in 1873 with Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. But after Bismarck's dismissal in 1890, his successors chose to support Austria against Russia over competing influence in the Balkans. Germany fought against Russia in [[World War I]] (1914–1918). Relations were warm in the 1920s, very cold throughout the 1930s, cooperative and friendly in 1939–41,<ref>Chubarov refers to "friendly relations" 1939-41; {{cite book|author=Alexander Chubarov|title=Russia's Bitter Path to Modernity: A History of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Eras|publisher=A&C Black|url=https://archive.org/details/russiasbitterpat0000chub|url-access=registration|year=2001|page=[https://archive.org/details/russiasbitterpat0000chub/page/111 111]|isbn=9780826413505}}</ref> and hostile in 1941–45. In the 1920s both countries co-operated with each other in trade and (secretly) in military affairs. Hostilities escalated in the 1930s as the fascists sponsored by Berlin and the communists sponsored by Moscow fought each other across the world, most famously in the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–39). In a stunning turnabout in August 1939, [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|both countries came to an agreement]], and divided up the previously independent nations of Eastern Europe. That détente collapsed [[Operation Barbarossa|in 1941 when Germany invaded the USSR]]. The Soviets survived however and formed an alliance with Britain and the U.S., and pushed the Germans back, [[Battle of Berlin|capturing Berlin in May 1945]].

During the [[Cold War]] 1947–1991, Germany was divided, with [[East Germany]] under Communist control and under the close watch of Moscow, which stationed a large military force there and [[Uprising of 1953 in East Germany|repressed an uprising in 1953]].

Germany has been consistently among the countries with the most negative views of Russia. In 2014 only 19% of Germans viewed Russia positively while 79% had a negative opinion and 81% disapproved of the Russian Leadership, making Germany one of the 10 countries with the highest disapproval in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2014/07/09/russias-global-image-negative-amid-crisis-in-ukraine/ |title= Russia's Global Image Negative amid Crisis in Ukraine |publisher=pewresearch.org |date= 9 July 2014 |access-date=2024-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://news.gallup.com/poll/182795/russia-receives-lowest-approval-world-highest.aspx|title= Russia Receives Lowest Approval in World; U.S. Highest |publisher=gallup.com |date= 21 April 2014 |access-date=2024-01-03}}</ref> In 2021 73% disapproved, still one of the highest numbers in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://news.gallup.com/poll/474596/russia-suffers-global-rebuke-invasion.aspx#:~:text=Global%20Ratings%20of%20Russia's%20Leadership&text=Median%20disapproval%20hit%20a%20record%2057%25%20in%202022.&text=2.,2021%20to%2021%25%20in%202022. |title= Russia Suffers Global Rebuke After Invasion |publisher=gallup.com |date= 25 April 2023 |access-date=2024-01-03}}</ref> After the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] German distrust of Russia reached a record of 90% and as of 2024, 95% disapprove of Russia's President [[Vladimir Putin]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.tagesschau.de/dtrend-747.pdf|title= ARD-DeutschlandTREND März 2022|publisher= tagesschau.de |date= 2 March 2022 |access-date=2024-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2023/07/10/confidence-in-putin-to-handle-world-affairs/gap_2023-07-10_russia-nato_1-01/|title= Views of Putin around the world|publisher= pewresearch.org|date= 6 July 2023|access-date= 2024-01-03|archive-date= 2024-01-03|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240103034017/https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2023/07/10/confidence-in-putin-to-handle-world-affairs/gap_2023-07-10_russia-nato_1-01/|url-status= dead}}</ref>

Relations turned highly negative in 2014 in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and support for insurgents in Ukraine. Germany was a leader between [[NATO Quint]] in imposing round after round of increasingly harsh European Union sanctions against the Russian oil and banking industries and top allies of [[President of Russia|President]] [[Vladimir Putin]]. Russia responded by cutting food imports from the EU.

The [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] led to a near complete reversal of German-Russian relations with the new German Chancellor, [[Olaf Scholz]], "ordering" the immediate transfer of thousands of missiles to the Ukrainian military to aid in its fight against the invading Russian forces. Germany has also participated in severe economic banking sanctions against Russia since the start of the war. However, Germany is very dependent on Russia for natural gas and has been less willing to sanction this sector, aside from halting the [[Nord Stream 2]] gas pipeline and the attack on September 26 temporarily shutting the pipes down. The pipeline made up a significant portion of Germany's petroleum imports from Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://amp.dw.com/de/russland-und-die-spd-scherbenhaufen-der-ostpolitik/a-61204291/ |title=Russland und die SPD: Scherbenhaufen der Ostpolitik |access-date=2022-04-18 |archive-date=2022-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419061920/https://amp.dw.com/de/russland-und-die-spd-scherbenhaufen-der-ostpolitik/a-61204291 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In response to sanctions imposed by Germany and the West, Russia gradually plunged flows of gas, which came to a complete halt in September 2022.

==History==

===Early history=== [[File:Ice-battle.jpg|thumb|Prince [[Alexander Nevsky]] defeats the [[Teutonic Knights]] at the [[Battle of the Ice]] in 1242 (20th century work).]] The earliest contact between [[Germans]] and [[East Slavs]] is unknown, though evidence of [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]] loan-words suggest Slavic interactions with the [[Goths]]. Substantive historically recorded contact goes back to the times of the [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]]' campaigns in the [[Baltic region|Baltic]], where the Knights [[Northern Crusades|took control of the land]] in the 13th century CE. Prince [[Alexander Nevsky]] defeated the Teutonic Knights at the [[Battle of the Ice]] in 1242.

Russia before the mid-18th century stood largely aloof from German affairs, while Germany, until the Napoleonic period, remained divided into numerous small states under the nominal leadership of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]].

After Russia's [[Great Northern War]] of 1700–1721 against [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]], however, Russia's influence spread definitively into the Baltic area.

[[File:Alexander I, venerates the mortal remains of Frederick the Great in presence of King Frederick William III and Queen Louisa.PNG|166px|thumb|right|Emperor [[Alexander I of Russia]] venerates the mortal remains of [[Frederick the Great]] in the presence of King [[Frederick William III]] and [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]] in 1805.]]

===German migrations eastward=== Over the centuries, from the Middle Ages onwards, German settlers steadily [[Ostsiedlung|moved eastward]], often into mostly Slavic areas and areas near to or controlled by Russia. Flegel points out that German farmers, traders and entrepreneurs moved into East and West Prussia, the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), the Danzig and Vistula River region, [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]], [[Slovenia]], the [[Banat]], the [[Bachka]], [[Bukovina]], [[Transylvania]], the [[Volga River]] district of Russia, [[Posen (region)|Posen]], the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], Polish and Ukrainian [[Volhynia]], [[Bessarabia]], and the [[Caucasus Germans|Mount Ararat]] region between the 17th and the 20th centuries. Often they came at the invitation of Russian governments. The Germans typically became the dominant factors in land-owning and in business enterprise. Some groups, such as part of the Mennonites, migrated to North America 1860–1914. The Germans in the Baltic states returned home voluntarily in 1940. Some 12 to 14 million were brutally [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50)|expelled]] from Poland, Czechoslovakia and other countries in Eastern Europe in 1944–46, with the death of 500,000 or more.<ref>R. M. Douglas, ''Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War'' (2013), the title is ironic</ref><ref>Henry Wend. "Review of MacDonogh, Giles, ''After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation''" on H-German, H-Net Reviews. January, 2010. [https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=25814 online]</ref> When the Cold War ended Germany funded the return of hundreds of thousands of people of German descent, whether or not they spoke German.<ref>Arthur E. Flegel, "A Summary of German Migrations Eastward into Poland, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Russia," ''Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia'' (1991) 14#4 pp 35-38.</ref>

[[File:Памятник Э.И. Тотлебену.jpg|thumb|Monument to Baltic German military engineer [[Eduard Totleben]] in [[Sevastopol]], Crimea]] A number of [[Baltic Germans]] served as ranking generals in the [[Russian Imperial Army]] and [[Imperial Russian Navy|Navy]], including [[Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly|Michael Barclay de Tolly]], [[Adam Johann von Krusenstern|Adam von Krusenstern]], [[Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen|Fabian von Bellingshausen]], [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden|Friedrich von Buxhoeveden]], [[Paul von Rennenkampf]], [[Ivan Ivanovich Michelson]] and [[Eduard Totleben]].

Many Baltic Germans (such as [[Roman von Ungern-Sternberg|Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg]], [[Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel|Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel]], [[Yevgeny Miller]], and [[Anatoly Lieven]]) sided with the [[White movement|Whites]] and related anti-Bolshevik forces (like the ''[[Baltische Landeswehr]]'' and the ''[[Freikorps in the Baltic|Freikorps]]'' movement) during the [[Russian Civil War]].

===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 [[Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf|Gross-Jägersdorf]], [[Battle of Zorndorf|Zorndorf]], [[Battle of Kay|Kay]] and [[Battle of Kunersdorf|Kunersdorf]]. However, when Russian Tsar [[Peter III of Russia|Peter III]] came to power, he made peace with Prussia by signing the [[Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1762)|Treaty of Saint Petersburg]], allowing Prussian King [[Frederick the Great]] to concentrate on his other enemies.

Prussia and Russia in agreement with Austria then cooperated to [[Partitions of Poland|carve up Poland-Lithuania]] between them in 1772, 1793, and 1795. Poland disappeared from the map. [[File:Declaration of victory after the Battle of Leipzig, 1813 (by Johann Peter Krafft).jpg|thumb|[[Johann Peter Krafft]].''[[The Declaration of Victory After the Battle of Leipzig]]'' by [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick III]] of Prussia, [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] of Russia and [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]] of Austria after the [[Battle of Leipzig]], 1813]] Both Russia and Prussia had [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarchies]] that reacted sharply when the [[French Revolution]] executed the king. They at first were part of the coalition against the new French regime during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] and later the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. During the Napoleonic era (1799 to 1815) Austria, Prussia, and Russia were at one time or another in coalition with Napoleon against his arch-enemy Great Britain. In the end, the two German states of Austria and Prussia united with Russia and Britain in opposing Napoleon. That coalition was primarily a matter of convenience for each nation. The key matchmaker was the Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, who forged a united front that proved decisive in overthrowing Napoleon, 1813–1814.<ref>Philip G. Dwyer, "Self-Interest versus the Common Cause: Austria, Prussia and Russia against Napoleon," ''Journal of Strategic Studies'' (2008) 31#4 pp 605-632.</ref>

Russia was the most powerful force on the continent after 1815 and played a major role in the [[Concert of Europe]] which included France, Russia, Austria and Britain, but not Prussia.<ref>Hugh Seton-Watson, ''The Russian Empire 1801-1917'' (Oxford History of Modern Europe) (1967), ch 9</ref> In 1815, the [[Holy Alliance]] consisting of Prussia, Russia and Austria was completed in Paris. For forty years (1816–56) Russian-German diplomat [[Karl Nesselrode]] as foreign minister guided Russian foreign policy. The revolutions of 1848 did not reach Russia, but its political and economic system was inadequate to maintain a modern army. It did poorly in the [[Crimean War]]. As Fuller notes, "Russia had been beaten on the Crimean peninsula, and the military feared that it would inevitably be beaten again unless steps were taken to surmount its military weakness."<ref>{{cite book|author=William C. Fuller|title=Strategy and Power in Russia 1600-1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BNF318Pgq9kC&pg=PA273|year=1998|page=273|publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781439105771}}</ref> The Crimean War marked the end of the Concert of Europe. 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 remained neutral in the Crimean War.

Prussia's successes in the [[Unification of Germany|Wars of German Unification]] in the 1860s were facilitated by Russia's lack of involvement. The creation of the [[German Empire]] under Prussian dominance in 1871, however, greatly changed the relations between the two countries.

===The German and Russian Empires=== [[Image:Triple Alliance.png|thumb|The Triple Alliance (shown in red) was constructed by Germany to isolate France; it responded by a new alliance, the [[Triple Entente]] with Britain and Russia. As a result, Russia and Germany were now on opposite sides.]] [[File:Zar Nikolaus II. und Kaiser Wilhelm II. auf der Kommandobrücke der SMS Deutschland.jpg|thumb|Czar [[Nicholas II]] of Russia and his cousin, Kaiser [[Wilhelm II]] of Germany, 1907]] Initially, it seemed as if the two great empires would be strong allies. German Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] formed the [[League of the 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.<ref>Erich Brandenburg, ''From Bismarck to the World War: A History of German Foreign Policy 1870-1914'' (1927) [http://www.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/12322 online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315175229/http://www.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/12322 |date=2017-03-15 }}.</ref> In 1877–1878, Russia fought a victorious [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)|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]]. 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.<ref>E. Malcolm Carroll, ''Germany and the great powers, 1866-1914: A study in public opinion and foreign policy'' (1938)</ref>

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.<ref>{{Citation | first=Patricia A. | last=Weitsman | title=Dangerous alliances: proponents of peace, weapons of war | year=2004 | page=79}}</ref>

A continental alliance of France, Germany, and Russia against Britain was proposed at the time of the [[Second Boer War|Anglo-Boer War]] in 1900 but the pact never materialized when Wilhelm II declined due to irreconcilable, prestige and independent policy.<ref>{{cite book | title=Wilhelm II | chapter=The Kaiser and England during the Boer War | date=2014 | pages=18–47 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | doi=10.1017/CBO9781139046275.004 | isbn=978-1-139-04627-5 | chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/wilhelm-ii/kaiser-and-england-during-the-boer-war/27B78407B932C612113B669E2A082F47 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Why Russia wanted but couldn't save the Boers from the British | date=17 January 2020 | url=https://www.rbth.com/history/331562-why-russia-helped-boers }}</ref>

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]].<ref>Bernadotte Schmitt, ''Triple Alliance and Triple Entente'' (1971)</ref> [[Treaty of Björkö]] was a secret mutual defense agreement signed on 1905, an island near the Swedish coast, between Germany and Russia, aiming to strengthen bilateral ties and counterbalance other European alliances. It was countersigned by [[Heinrich von Tschirschky]], head of the German Foreign Office, and Naval Minister [[Aleksei Birilev]]. The treaty was sought to isolate France diplomatically by enticing Russia away from its partnership with France and possibly enhance Germany's position in Russo-France alliance towards at Britain, but it ultimately failed to alter the preexisting alliance networks.<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291079699_Dreams_of_a_German_Europe_Wilhelm_II_and_the_Treaty_of_Bjorko_of_1905</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Nicholas II, Wilhelm II and the 1905 Treaty of Björkö | date=26 July 2023 | url=https://tsarnicholas.org/2023/07/26/nicholas-ii-wilhelm-ii-and-the-1905-treaty-of-bjorko/ }}</ref> In June 1909, the Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II exchanged cordial visits aboard the Royal yachts Hohenzollern and Standart off Bjorko. This possible rapprochement meeting was significant as it marked a diplomatic moment between the two emperors, who shared a common interest in maintaining European peace and stability the meeting represented a temporary easing of tensions following the [[Bosnian Crisis]]. It demonstrated imperial attempts at leveraged international relations. The visit was accompanied by German Minister for Foreign Affairs [[Wilhelm von Schoen|Herr von Schoen]] and Russian Premier [[Pyotr Stolypin|M. Stolypin]].<ref>https://www.histclo.com/royal/rus/n2/n2-kw.htm</ref>

In November 1910 and 1913, wherein two monarchs visited in Potsdam for private discussions aimed at strengthening family ties and easing diplomatic tensions between their empires. The personal rapport between Wilhelm and Nicholas, documented through the [[Willy–Nicky correspondence]], the visit largely ceremonial it own symbolized the complex interplay of personal diplomacy in ultimately could not overcome the pressures of national alliances and political crise.<ref>https://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/12th-november-1910/2/the-tsar-arrived-at-potsdam-on-friday-week-for-a</ref><ref>https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19101107.2.91#image-tab</ref> The ultimate result of this was that Russia and Germany became enemies in [[World War I]]. The [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] saw Germany successful, with victories at [[Battle of Tannenberg|Tannenberg]], [[First Battle of the Masurian Lakes|First]] and [[Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes|Second Masurian Lakes]] and [[Lake Naroch Offensive|Lake Naroch]]. The czarist system collapsed in 1917. The Bolsheviks came to power in the [[October Revolution]]. The new regime signed the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] which was highly advantageous to Germany, although it was reversed when Germany surrendered to the Allies in November 1918.<ref>{{cite book|author=Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius|title=The German Myth of the East: 1800 to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZ-XM7SfAOcC&pg=PA145|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=145–48|isbn=978-0-19-960516-3}}</ref>

===Interwar period=== {{Main|Germany–Soviet Union relations, 1918–1941|Treaty of Rapallo (1922)}} [[File:Germany Soviet Union Locator until 1937.png|350px|right]] {|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" ![[File:Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg|50px|center]] [[Weimar Republic]] (1918–1933) [[File:Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg|50px|center]] [[Nazi Germany]] (1933–1945) ![[File:Flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1918-1920).svg|50px|center]] [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] (1917–1922)<br>as a [[sovereign state]] [[File:Flag of the Soviet Union (1924–1936).svg|50px|center]] [[Soviet Union|USSR]] (1922–1990) |} 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. The [[Treaty of Rapallo (1922)]] formalized their warming relationship.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hans Mommsen|title=The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My6VNpvQlYIC&pg=PA122|year=1998|publisher=U of North Carolina Press |page=122|isbn=9780807847213}}</ref> Until 1933 the Soviet Union secretly provided training camps for the German Armed Forces.<ref>[[Hans W. Gatzke]], "Russo-German military collaboration during the Weimar Republic." ''American Historical Review'' 63.3 (1958): 565-597. [http://www3.nccu.edu.tw/~lorenzo/Gatzke%201.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209233545/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1848881 |date=2019-12-09 }}</ref>

The coming to power in 1933 of [[Adolf Hitler]] and the creation of [[Nazi Germany|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.<ref>Lorna L. Waddington, "The Anti-Komintern and Nazi Anti-Bolshevik Propaganda in the 1930s," ''Journal of Contemporary History,'' (2007) 42#4 pp. 573-94 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30036470 in JSTOR]</ref> The [[Communist International|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.<ref>{{cite book|author=Archie Brown|title=The Rise and Fall of Communism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xO5GZQiCKmUC&pg=PA88|year=2009|publisher=Doubleday Canada|pages=88–89|isbn=9780307372246}}</ref> [[Image:Spotkanie Sojuszników.jpg|thumb|right|German and Soviet troops shaking hands following the [[invasion of Poland]] in September 1939]]

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 hand 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 send volunteers to the [[International Brigades]] that fought for the Loyalists.<ref>Michael Alpert, ''A New International History of the Spanish Civil War'' (2nd ed. 2004)[https://www.amazon.com/International-History-Spanish-Civil-Second/dp/1403911711/ excerpt and text search]</ref>

In August 1939 the two 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.<ref>Donald Cameron Watt, ''How War Came, The Immediate Origins of the Second World War 1938-1939'' (1989) ch 24-25</ref> At the same time, the Soviet and German interests were not reconciled in the Balkano-Danubian region. Thus, during 1940-1941 hot Soviet-German discussions concerning a new division of the South-Eastern Europe were going on. In June 1940, Moscow recognized that Slovakia was in the German sphere of influence.<ref>Aliaksandr Piahanau. Slovak-Hungarian relations in the mirror of the German-Soviet conflictive alliance. In: Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, No. 2, 2012, pp. 144-163. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01261457/document</ref> Otherwise, Russian request for the exclusive influence in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey was rejected by Berlin in November 1940.

=== German invasion of Soviet Union and World War II=== [[File:RIAN archive 2153 After bombing.jpg|thumb|The [[siege of Leningrad]] during [[World War II]] was the deadliest siege of a city in history.]] {{main|Eastern Front (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.<ref>John Mosier, ''Hitler vs. Stalin: The Eastern Front, 1941-1945'' (2011)</ref>

The [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] became the horrendous ideological and [[race war]] with more than 27 million killed, including [[German mistreatment of Soviet prisoners of war|Soviet prisoners of war]] and Jews. It was perhaps [[List of battles by death toll|the bloodiest conflict in human history]].<ref>Timothy Snyder, ''Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin'' (2011)</ref>

===After the war: the Soviet Union and the two German states=== {{Infobox bilateral relations|West Germany–Soviet Union|West Germany|Soviet Union|map=West Germany Soviet Union Locator (cropped).png}} {{Infobox bilateral relations|East Germany–Soviet Union|East Germany|Soviet Union|}} The defeat of Germany by the Soviets and the [[Allies of World War II|Western allies]] eventually led to the occupation and partition of Germany and the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50)|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.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Patrick Salmon |editor2=Keith Hamilton |editor3=Stephen Robert Twigge |title=German Unification 1989-90: Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series III|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5bESQ1JEd6oC&pg=PA53|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis|pages=53–|isbn=9780203866634}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=James Mann|title=The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgZyXNIrvB4C&pg=PT279|year=2009|publisher=Penguin |page=279|isbn=9781440686399}}</ref> After the [[Revolutions of 1989]] and the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]], the Communist regime in East Germany collapsed and [[German reunification]] took place. One issue was the presence of large numbers of Soviet troops; West Germany paid for their repatriation for housing them in the USSR.<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles S. Maier|title=Dissolution: The Crisis of Communism and the End of East Germany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R41nhLKynT4C&pg=PA281|year= 2001|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=281–2|isbn=1400822254}}</ref>

Remarkably, despite the two 20th-century wars, there are very few hard feelings against Germany in modern Russia, particularly on the part of Russians born after 1945.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} Moreover, in many places in Russia German war cemeteries were established in places of fierce World War II battles,<ref>Trenin, Dmitri V., “Post-Imperium: A Eurasian Story,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2011, [http://carnegieendowment.org/pdf/book/post-imperium.pdf p.101] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419100841/http://carnegieendowment.org/pdf/book/post-imperium.pdf |date=2014-04-19 }}.</ref> whereas Germans were happy to get rid of the hated [[Stasi]] and Russian occupation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Looking Back: The Fall of East Germany's Feared Stasi 30 Years Ago |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/europe_looking-back-fall-east-germanys-feared-stasi-30-years-ago/6182647.html |date=15 January 2020}}</ref>

===Federal Republic of Germany and the Russian Federation=== [[Image:German Embassy Mosfilmovskaya Street.jpg|thumb|right|[[Embassy of Germany, Moscow|Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany]] in [[Mosfilmovskaya Street]], [[Moscow]]]] [[Image:Vladimir Putin with Johannes Rau-1.jpg|thumb|right|Vladimir Putin and German President [[Johannes Rau]] (right) in 2001]]

Relations between the two nations since the fall of Communism in 1990 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 1]] gas pipeline between them.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} His successor [[Angela Merkel]], an Easterner and former dissident, has been more critical and clashed with Russian [[President of Russia|president]] [[Vladimir Putin]] over [[Human rights in Russia|human rights]] and other issues. However, she, like her predecessor, always put a high value on the Nordstream pipeline, due to its ability to increase Russian influence.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Most of the human rights issues could be seen as side-shows for the public - whilst the end-goal was always the completion of, and compensation for, NordStream. The project under both the Bush and Obama administration moved forward at rapid pace, but with only 300 km left, the Trump Administration halted the project by putting pressure on the Danish company overseeing the completion of the pipeline.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldoil.com/news/2019/12/24/trump-s-sanctions-lead-allseas-to-halt-nord-stream-2-work|title = Trump's sanctions lead Allseas to halt Nord Stream 2 work|work=World Oil|first1=Daniel|last1=Flatley|first2=Stefan|last2=Nicola|first3=Ewa|last3=Krukowska|date=December 24, 2019|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Germany created a German-Russian Forum ({{Langx|de|Deutsch-Russisches Forum}}) in 1993. Alexandra Gräfin Lambsdorff was its first president.

===21st century=== {{main|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}} After the failure of the [[Soviet Union]] and troubles of the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|early Russian Federation]], a policy of rapprochement named [[Wandel durch Handel]] ensued.

In 2007 then-[[Minister of Foreign Affairs]] [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]] published a long article explaining his rationale on EU being such an exceptional role model on international cooperation that Putinite [[Russia]] will unavoidably get "like us" by merely "intertwining of interests" (''Verflechtung''), and also that "a pan-European peace order and a lasting solution to important security problems (…) can only be achieved with Russia, not without it or even against it".<ref name=inpol>{{Cite web |title=Verflechtung und Integration {{!}} Internationale Politik |url=https://internationalepolitik.de/de/verflechtung-und-integration |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=internationalepolitik.de |date=March 2007 }}</ref>

Even after the five-day [[Russo-Georgian War]] in August 2008, Steinmeier argued for a new [[Ostpolitik]] and proposed a comprehensive project of ‘Partnership for Modernisation’ – a continued attempt of ‘westernisation’ of Russia and thus an export of norms, institutions and procedures of the western community.<ref name=dh18/> Relations were normal in the first part of the new century, with expanding trade relations and an increasing German reliance on pipeline shipments of Russian natural gas, especially in light of the November 2011 completion of the [[Nord Stream 1]] pipeline.<ref name=ft081111> {{cite news | url = http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/51ea636e-0a14-11e1-8d46-00144feabdc0.html | first1 = Gerrit | last1 = Wiesmann | title = Russia-EU gas pipeline delivers first supplies | newspaper = [[Financial Times]] | date = 8 November 2011 | access-date = 8 November 2011}} </ref> Generations of German foreign ministers helped over many years to admit Putin into the [[WTO]],<ref name=inpol/> which occurred after a span of two decades in 2011.<ref name=rusmem>[https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/acc_rus_16dec11_e.htm Ministerial Conference approves Russia's WTO membership] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107231725/http://wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/acc_rus_16dec11_e.htm |date=7 January 2012 }} WTO News Item, 16 December 2011</ref>

Relations turned negative in 2014 in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and support for insurgents in Ukraine. Germany was a leader between [[NATO Quint]] in imposing round after round of increasingly harsh sanctions against the Russian oil and banking industries and top allies of President Putin. Russia responded by cutting food imports from the EU.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Since the crisis began, Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] told President Putin that the [[2014 Crimean status referendum|referendum on accession of Crimea to Russia]] is illegal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/cold-war-kids-merkel-and-putin-square-off-over-crimean-crisis-205925438.html|title=Cold War kids Merkel and Putin square off over Crimean crisis|work=Yahoo News|first=Marc|last=Young|date=March 12, 2014|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref>

=== 2014–2021 === {{main|International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War}} The European Union, the United States and their allies began using economic sanctions to force Russia to reverse course regarding Ukraine and stop supporting [[2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine]]. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that: :Merkel and her fellow Western leaders are angered by Russia's actions in Ukraine, especially its seizure of Crimea, support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine and fresh military incursion. Moscow's denial that it has any involvement in Ukraine's blood conflict only irks them more. The German chancellor has signaled a tougher stance toward Russia, spelling out her willingness to sacrifice German economic interests and further boost sanctions to send a strong message that Moscow's actions are unacceptable. [She said,] "Being able to change borders in Europe without consequences, and attacking other countries with troops, is in my view a far greater danger than having to accept certain disadvantages for the economy."<ref>{{cite web|first=Robyn|last=Dixon|title=As NATO talks near, Merkel appears to be losing patience with Putin|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-merkel-putin-20140904-story.html#page=1|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 3, 2014|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref> [[File:Nordstream.png|thumb|[[Nord Stream 1]] [[natural gas]] pipeline, running under the [[Baltic Sea]]. Germany imported 50% to 75% of its natural gas from Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump: How much of Germany's gas comes from Russia? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44794688 |work=BBC News |date=11 July 2018}}</ref>]] On the left, however, former Social Democrat Chancellor [[Gerhard Schröder]] announced his understanding of Russian policies and support for Putin. The ''New York Times'' editorialized that Schröder's decision to "embrace him [Putin] in a bear hug sent an unacceptable signal that some prominent Europeans are willing to ignore Mr. Putin's brutish ways."<ref>Ralf Neukirch, "The Wrong Impression: Schröder's Russia Ties Are Bad Politics," [http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/embrace-of-putin-by-schroeder-bad-for-german-foreign-policy-a-967900.html Spiegel Online International May 6, 2014], with a photo of the "bear hug."</ref> According to the Russian news agency [[Russian News Agency TASS|ITAR/TASS]] in September 2014, Russia's Prime Minister [[Dmitry Medvedev]] admitted the sanctions are hurting the Russian economy and slowing its growth. However he expected to support oil industries that are hurt, to seek financing and high technology from Asia, and to import food from new sources.<ref>ITAR-TASS, "Sanctions likely to pose risks for Russia to fall behind in technology — Medvedev," [http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/750401 September 19, 2014, online] and "Russian economy grows badly, GDP rise not to exceed 0.5% in 2014 — Medvedev" [http://en.itar-tass.com/economy/750358 September 19, 2014]</ref> Germany also tried to persuade Russia to return to the [[Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe]], which it had abrogated in March 2015.<ref name="dh18">{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/09644008.2018.1448385|title=Germany's Eastern Challenge and the Russia–Ukraine Crisis: A New Ostpolitik in the Making? |year=2018 |last1=Daehnhardt |first1=Patricia |last2=Handl |first2=Vladimír |journal=German Politics |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=445–459 |s2cid=158178079 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Even as late as 2016, "German leaders rejected the proposal to send weapons to the Ukrainian government, as advocated by Republican congressmen in the US and treated as a possibility by [[Barack Obama]], since pursuit of a military solution to the conflict collided with Germany’s post-war pacific security culture."{{sfn|Siddi|2016}}

[[File:German fans Russia 2018.jpg|thumb|German fans at the [[2018 FIFA World Cup]] in Russia]] Germany has traditionally been one of Russia's key economic partners. The annual trade turnover between the two countries had exceeded the $80 billion-level just before the sanctions were imposed. It is estimated that mutual sanctions entailed the decline in the bilateral trade volume of up to 20% that meant billions of losses for the German economy and, obviously, many jobs being cut. By early 2014, when the conflict was about to start, not only did German exports to Russia constitute the third of the whole EU's, but more than 6,200 German firms operated in Russia itself.<ref>Murad Muradov, "Ukraine: Germany's Russian lobby"[http://thepoliticon.net/analytics/234-germanys-russian-lobby.html ''The Politicon,'' 26 November 2015] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032452/http://thepoliticon.net/analytics/234-germanys-russian-lobby.html |date=1 December 2017 }}</ref> In 2017, for the first time since the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions in 2014, bilateral trade increased - by 22.8%, amounting to about $50 billion. In the first eight months of 2018, the volume of mutual trade between Russia and Germany increased by almost a quarter compared to the same period last year. At the same time, Russian exports to Germany in 2018 increased by 35% to $22.1 billion, while imports rose by 12% to $16.9 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ru-eu.org/news/48053/|title=Путин на встрече с германским бизнесом обсудит торгово-экономические отношения РФ и ФРГ|website=www.ru-eu.org|language=ru|access-date=2020-03-19|archive-date=2020-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319085515/https://www.ru-eu.org/news/48053/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:2019-07-29-3510-204555-Rammstein venue.jpg|thumb|The Moscow concert by the German rock band [[Rammstein]] on 29 July 2019]]

A [[Levada Center|Levada]] poll released in August 2018 found that 68% of Russian respondents believe that Russia needs to dramatically improve relations with Western countries, including Germany.<ref>{{cite news |title=Favorable Attitudes Toward U.S., EU Rising In Russia, Poll Finds |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/favorable-attitudes-toward-u-s-eu-on-the-rise-in-russia-levada-poll-finds/29407171.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=2 August 2018}}</ref> A Levada poll released in February 2020 found that 80% of Russian respondents believe that Russia and the West should become friends and partners.<ref>{{cite news |title=4 in 5 Russians View West as a Friend – Poll |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/02/18/4-in-5-russians-view-west-as-a-friend-poll-a69322 |work=The Moscow Times |date=18 February 2020}}</ref>

The [[East StratCom Task Force]] of the [[European External Action Service]] registered an increase in false information [[Propaganda in the Russian Federation|propagated in Russia]] about Germany as a result of the deterioration in German-Russian relations developed since the [[Poisoning of Alexei Navalny]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vilifying Germany; Wooing Germany |url=https://euvsdisinfo.eu/villifying-germany-wooing-germany/ |website=euvsdisinfo.eu |date=9 March 2021 |access-date=13 March 2021}}</ref>

In October 2021, German Defense Minister [[Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer]] had talked about the possibility of deploying [[nuclear weapon]]s against Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Germans clash over nuclear deterrence against Russia |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/germans-clash-over-nuclear-deterrence-against-russia/ |work=Euractiv |date=25 October 2021}}</ref> She noted that nuclear weapons are a "means of deterrence."<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia summons German military attache over comments on nuclear deterrence - RIA |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-summons-german-military-attache-over-comments-nuclear-deterrence-ria-2021-10-25/ |work=Reuters |date=25 October 2021}}</ref>

=== 2022–present === [[File:Putin-Scholz meeting.jpg|thumb|right|Putin's hypochondria on display as he meets with German chancellor [[Olaf Scholz]] on 15 February 2022]] After the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] started, Germany, as one of the EU countries, imposed [[International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War|sanctions on Russia]], and Russia added all EU countries to the list of "unfriendly nations".<ref name=leectv>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Michael |title=Here are the nations on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/here-are-the-nations-on-russia-s-unfriendly-countries-list-1.5810483 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308155210/https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/here-are-the-nations-on-russia-s-unfriendly-countries-list-1.5810483 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |work=CTV News |date=8 March 2020}}</ref> Germany joined other countries in spring 2022 in [[Diplomatic expulsions during the Russo-Ukrainian War|declaring a number of Russian diplomats]] ''persona non grata''.

In April 2022, the German government said it will send 1 billion euros in [[List of military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War|military aid]] to Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news |title=German Delivery Of Heavy Weapons To Ukraine Allowed Under International Law: Justice Minister |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/germany-ukraine-military-aid/31806386.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=16 April 2022}}</ref> On 17 May 2022, German Finance Minister [[Christian Lindner]] said he is "politically open to the idea of seizing" the frozen [[List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves|foreign-exchange reserves]] of the [[Central Bank of Russia]] —which amount to over $300 billion— to cover the costs of rebuilding Ukraine after the war. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister [[Alexander Grushko]] remarked that it would amount to "complete lawlessness", and that the measure would hurt Germany if adopted.<ref>{{cite news |title=Germany open to Russian Central Bank asset seizure to finance Ukraine's recovery |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/eastern-europe/news/germany-open-to-russian-central-bank-asset-seizure-to-finance-ukraines-recovery/ |work=[[Euractiv]] |date=17 May 2022}}</ref>

German [[Riol Chemie GmbH]] has allegedly illegally delivered chemicals to Russia, including precursor for [[Novichok]].<ref>[https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/16706-germany-raids-companies-that-exported-dual-use-chemicals-to-russia Germany Raids Companies that Exported ‘Dual-Use’ Chemicals to Russia]</ref><ref>[https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr-wdr/durchsuchung-dual-use-103.html Chemical Agents for Russia?]</ref>

By 1 September 2022, the actual volume of [[List of military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War|German arms deliveries to Ukraine]] was only exceeded by that of deliveries by the United States and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mitzer |first1=Stijn |last2=Oliemans |first2=Joost |date=1 September 2022 |title=Fact Sheet On German Military Aid To Ukraine |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/09/fact-sheet-on-german-military-aid-to.html |access-date=20 January 2023 |website=Oryx |language=en}}</ref> In fall 2022, Russia had halted gas flows via the [[Nord Stream 1]] pipeline several times, blaming [[International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|international sanctions against Russia]]. This led to an upward jump in energy prices as Russia tried to use energy as a weapon to reduce support for Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Northam |first1=Jackie |title=Russia is using energy as a weapon. Could this spread to the rest of the world? |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/11/02/1133667483/russia-is-using-energy-as-a-weapon-could-this-spread-to-the-rest-of-the-world |date=2 November 2022}}</ref> Russia's foreign ministry blamed the [[United States]] for Germany's energy crisis, by pushing its leaders towards a "suicidal" step of cutting economic and energy cooperation with [[Moscow]], which he claimed had been a reliable energy supplier since Soviet times,<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-says-united-states-is-behind-europes-gas-supply-crisis-2022-09-06/ Russia says United States is behind Europe's gas supply crisis] ''Reuters Business''. Retrieved 7 September 2022.</ref> despite previous [[Russia–Ukraine gas disputes|Russian-Ukrainian gas disputes]] having affected Russia's natural gas supply to Europe in 2006 and 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-01-11 |title=TIMELINE: Gas crises between Russia and Ukraine |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-ukraine-gas-timeline-sb-idUSTRE50A1A720090111 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Reuters.com}}</ref> [[File:Berlin rally after Navalny's murder asv2024-02-16 img18.jpg|thumb|Protest outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin demanding the release of Russia's [[political prisoner]]s, February 2024]] A discussion on the legitimacy of economic sanctions against Russia took place. Parties to the right ([[Alternative for Germany|AfD]]) and to the left ([[Die Linke]]) were split on the issue whether economic sanctions are effective to stop the conflict, and how they impact the German economy. Proponents of the right wanted to support the [[Nord Stream 2]] pipeline, while politicians to the left have voiced similar concerns with regard to Germany's economic viability.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/19/germanys-die-linke-on-verge-of-split-over-sanctions-on-russia|title=Germany's Die Linke on verge of split over sanctions on Russia|work=The Guardian|first=Philip|last=Oltermann|date=19 September 2022|access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref><ref>[https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/german-far-right-mps-to-visit-russian-occupied-eastern-ukraine/ "German far-right MPs to visit Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine"] euractiv.com. Retrieved 22 September 2022.</ref> The [[2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage|destruction of Nord Stream 2]] in September 2022 changed the debate.

In January 2023, Scholz announced the decision to send [[Leopard 2]] battle tanks to Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scholz defends decision to send battle tanks to Ukraine |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-defends-decision-to-send-battle-tanks-to-ukraine/a-64509633 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=25 January 2024}}</ref> In April 2023, Germany expelled 50 Russian diplomats, the action was reportedly taken "in order to reduce the presence of Russian intelligence in Germany".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2023-04-25/germany-expelling-russian-diplomats|title=Germany is expelling Russian diplomats|website=www.osw.waw.pl|date=25 April 2023|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref> Russia closed four of the five Russian Consulates in Germany. The [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] responded by expelling 34 German diplomats from Moscow, stating that Germany "continues to demonstratively destroy the entire array of Russian-German relations".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-responds-kind-mass-expulsion-its-berlin-diplomats-2023-04-22/|title=Russia announces 'reciprocal' expulsion of more than 20 German diplomats, RIA reports|website=www.reuterss.com|date=22 April 2023|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref> In May 2023, the [[Federal Foreign Office|German Foreign Ministry]] stated that hundreds of Germans would be expelled from Moscow at the beginning of June, this due to a decision by Russia to cap the number of German employees in the country. Those expelled include employees from the [[German School Moscow]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65731546|title=Hundreds of expelled Germans set to leave Russia|website=www.bbc.co.uk|date=27 May 2023|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref> Germany closed consulates general in Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg on 1 December 2023, having already closed the one in Kaliningrad.<ref>{{cite web |title=Germany closes its consulates general in Russia's Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg |url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/97133/ |date=1 December 2023}}</ref>

In 2022, Scholz stated that Russian deserters and draft evaders who refused to take part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and [[Russian emigration during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|fled Russia]] should be given protection in Germany. However, in 2024, German authorities ordered the deportation of Russian nationals who wanted to avoid [[2022 Russian mobilization|mobilization]] and criticized Putin's government on the grounds that they would not face [[Human rights in Russia|persecution]] in Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Germany: No asylum for Russian draft dodgers? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-no-asylum-for-russian-draft-dodgers/a-68863537 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=19 April 2024}}</ref> [[File:2A6 into a Poklonnaya hill9.jpg|thumb|A captured German-supplied [[Leopard 2]] main battle tank in Ukrainian service on display at Moscow's Victory Park on [[Poklonnaya Hill]], 2024]] In May 2024, Scholz gave Ukraine permission to [[Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|strike targets inside Russia]] with German-supplied weapons.<ref>{{cite news |title=Berlin allows Ukraine to fire German weapons at targets in Russia |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/05/31/berlin-allows-ukraine-to-fire-german-weapons-at-targets-in-russia_6673279_4.html |work=[[Le Monde]] |date=31 May 2024}}</ref>

In July 2024, the United States announced its intention to deploy [[Ballistic missiles|long-range missiles]] in Germany from 2026 that could hit Russian territory within 10 minutes. In response, Russian President Putin warned of a [[Second Cold War|Cold War]]-style missile crisis and threatened to deploy long-range missiles within striking distance of the West.<ref>{{cite news |title=A new arms race in Europe? US long-range weapons in Germany |url=https://www.dw.com/en/a-new-arms-race-in-europe-us-long-range-weapons-in-germany/a-69648733 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=13 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="guardian-missiles"/> US weapons in Germany would include [[RIM-174 Standard ERAM|SM-6]] and [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk]] cruise missiles and [[Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon|hypersonic weapons]].<ref name="guardian-missiles"/> The United States' decision to deploy long-range missiles in Germany has been compared to the deployment of [[Pershing II]] launchers in Western Europe in 1979.<ref name="aljazeera-cold war">{{cite news |title=Russia says US missiles in Germany signal return of Cold War |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/11/russia-says-us-missiles-in-germany-signal-return-of-cold-war |work=Al Jazeera |date=11 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="guardian-missiles">{{cite news |title=Putin warns US against deploying long-range missiles in Germany |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/28/putin-warns-us-against-deploying-long-range-missiles-in-germany |work=The Guardian |date=28 July 2024}}</ref> The decision was supported by German Chancellor [[Olaf Scholz]] and German Defense Minister [[Boris Pistorius]]. Critics say the move would trigger a new [[arms race]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Germany split on US stationing long-range cruise missiles |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-split-on-us-stationing-long-range-cruise-missiles/a-69638145 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=11 July 2024}}</ref> According to Russian military analysts, it would be extremely difficult to distinguish between a conventionally armed missile and a missile carrying a [[nuclear warhead]], and Russia could respond by deploying longer-range nuclear systems targeting Germany.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thanks to Putin, the U.S. will again place long-range missiles in Germany |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4767369-thanks-to-putin-the-u-s-will-again-place-long-range-missiles-in-germany/ |work=The Hill |date=12 July 2024}}</ref>

The disruption of Germany–Russia relations has to do with the paradigm of "[[Wandel durch Handel]]" politics. In basic terms, Germany forged a useful economic relationship with Russia through the imports of natural resources under the chancellorship of [[Gerhard Schröder]] from 1998 to 2004. Subsequent to the [[Russia-Ukraine war]], this model was abandoned and Germany experienced an economic decline due to strict economic sanctions against the [[Russian Federation]], particularly in the energy sector.<ref>[https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/1-year-on-how-ukraine-war-has-changed-germany/2828955#:~:text=Ukraine%20war%20costs%20German%20economy,Germany%20in%202023%20as%20well. "1 year on: How Ukraine war has changed Germany"] aa.com. Accessed Oct 19 2025</ref>

== Trade == In 2021 German exports to Russia were $31.3 billion of goods with medication being the top export. Russian exports to Germany were valued at $19.2 billion with crude oil being the top item. Between 1995 and 2021 German exports rose on average by 6.22% p.a. with Russian exports rising by an average of 4.56% p.a.<ref name="ocjan">{{cite web |title=Germany/Russia |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/deu/partner/rus |date=January 2022}}</ref>

In August 2023 German exports for the month were $736m and imports just $216m, proving the dramatic fall in trade between the two nations following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="ocjan"/>

{{Chart | chart = Foreign Trade Germany Russia.chart | data = Foreign Trade Germany Russia.tab }}

==Russians in Germany== {{See also|Volga Germans}} Since German reunification, Germany is home to a fast-growing and large community of people of Russian ancestry who have moved to Germany as full citizens. In the 1990s, some 100,000 to 200,000 arrived annually.<ref>{{cite book|editor1=Wayne Cornelius|editor2=Takeyuki Tsuda|editor3=Philip Martin|editor4=James Hollifield|title=Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i0d10wbGkWEC&pg=PA235|year=2004|edition=2nd|publisher=Stanford University Press|page=235|isbn=9780804744904}}</ref> Germany also has funded the communities that remain behind in Russia.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Mcgarry|title=European Integration and the Nationalities Question|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSukfE9folEC&pg=PA150|year=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|pages=150–51|isbn=9780203088401}}</ref>

==Education== Russian international schools in Germany include the [[Russian Embassy School in Berlin]] and the [[Russian Consulate School in Bonn]]. There is a German school in Russia: [[German School Moscow]].

==Resident diplomatic missions== * Germany has an embassy in [[Moscow]] and a consulate-general in [[Saint Petersburg]]. * Russia has an embassy in [[Berlin]]. **[[List of ambassadors of Russia to Germany]]

<gallery class="center"> File:German Embassy Mosfilmovskaya Street.jpg|[[Embassy of Germany in Moscow]] File:General Consulate of Germany.jpg|Consulate-General of Germany in Saint Petersburg File:Berlin, Mitte, Unter den Linden 55-65, Russische Botschaft 02.jpg|[[Embassy of Russia in Berlin]] </gallery>

==See also== {{portal|Germany|Russia}} *[[Russia in the European energy sector]] *[[Russian espionage in Germany]] *[[Germany–Soviet Union relations before 1941]] *[[Cold War II]]

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography=== {{refbegin|2}} * 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}} * Burleigh, Michael. ''Germany turns eastwards: a study of Ostforschung in the Third Reich'' (1988) * 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) * Forsberg, Tuomas. "From Ostpolitik to ‘frostpolitik’? Merkel, Putin and German foreign policy towards Russia." ''International Affairs'' 92.1 (2016): 21-42 [https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/ia/INTA92_1_02_Forsberg.pdf online] * 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 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/245594 in JSTOR] * Jacobs, Jonathan. "Between Westbindung and Ostpolitik: Reconceptualising German-Russian Relations 2014-2017." (2019). [https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/112510/120349803.pdf?sequence=1 online] * Jelavich, Barbara. ''St. Petersburg and Moscow: tsarist and Soviet foreign policy, 1814-1974'' (1974). * Kuklick, Bruce ''American Policy and the Division of Germany: The Clash with Russia over Reparations'' (Cornell U. Press, 1972) * Laqueur, Walter. ''Russia and Germany'' (1965), covers what Russians and Germans thought of each other, 1860–1960. * Leach, Barry A. ''German Strategy Against Russia, 1939-41'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973) * Lieven, Dominic. ''Russia against Napoleon: the battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814'' (2009) * Liulevicius, Vejas Gabriel. ''War on the Eastern Front: Culture, National Identity, and German Occupation in World War I'' (Cambridge University Press, 2000) * Liulevicius, Vejas Gabriel. ''The German myth of the East: 1800 to the present'' (Oxford University Press, 2010) * Naimark, Norman M. ''The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949'' (1997) * Nekrich, Aleksandr Moiseevich. ''Pariahs, partners, predators: German-Soviet relations, 1922-1941'' (Columbia University Press, 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) * Schroeder, Paul W. ''The transformation of European politics, 1763-1848'' (1994) detailed diplomatic history covering Prusia and Russia (and the other major powers) * {{cite book|last=Shkandrij|first=Myroslav|title=Russia and Ukraine: Literature and the Discourse of Empire from Napoleonic to Postcolonial Times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s-8Xa2ch1Y0C&pg=PR7|year=2001|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=9780773569492}} * {{cite journal |last1=Siddi |first1=Marco |title=German Foreign Policy towards Russia in the Aftermath of the Ukraine Crisis: A New Ostpolitik? |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |date=20 April 2016 |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=665–677 |doi=10.1080/09668136.2016.1173879|s2cid=156187733 }} * [[Angela Stent|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 * Uldricks, Teddy J. "War, Politics and Memory: Russian Historians Reevaluate the Origins of World War II," ''History and Memory'' 21#2 (2009), pp. 60–2 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/his.2009.21.2.60 online]; historiography * 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 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/519317 in JSTOR] * Yoder, Jennifer A. "From Amity to Enmity: German-Russian Relations in the Post Cold War Period." ''German Politics & Society'' 33#3 (2015): 49–69. {{refend}}

==External links== {{wikiquote}} {{Commons category|Relations of Germany and Russia}} *[http://www.petersburger-dialog.de/ Petersburger Dialogue] (in German and Russian only) *[http://www.bergedorf-round-table.org/ Bergedorfer Round Table]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germany-Russia Relations}} [[Category:Germany–Russia relations| ]] [[Category:Bilateral relations of Germany|Russia]] [[Category:Bilateral relations of Russia]]