Includes bibliographical references and index

The weight of history -- The development of German attitudes towards Russia -- The miracle of reunification -- A failure to read Russia correctly -- 2014 : abandonment of illusions -- An unfulfilled economic relationship -- Russian influence in Germany -- The outlook

"Germany has the most developed relationship with Russia of any EU country, spanning business, education, politics, culture and sport. But Germany has a Russia problem: its policymakers struggle to accept that Moscow's efforts to rebalance Europe are an attack on Germany's interests. They instinctively shy away from confrontation with Russia. In this bold and original analysis, John Lough explains the scale of the challenge facing Germany as it strives to design policies for managing its relations with a changing Russia. Beginning with an account of how the countries' attitudes to each other were formed over centuries, he explores how German governments from 1991 to 2014 misread Russian intentions and inadvertently supported the emergence of a Russian system hostile to German interests, until Angela Merkel sharply recalibrated German and EU policy. He concludes by considering how Germany can respond to the problems posed by an increasingly isolationist Russia and how its allies can help it temper its instincts." -- From the book cover