title: Condemned to Lead: Germany's Role in Rebalancing the West's Russia Relations
abstract: Russia’s resistance over Ukraine’s Western orientation and the absorption of Crimea unleashed the most critical disruption in East-West relations since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Germany and Russia have had a special relationship for centuries and strong economic and political ties since the end of the Cold War. The conflicts over Ukraine and the Crimea crisis have been a major accelerant, but not the main reason for Germany´s adjustment of its Russia policy. Various hot and frozen confli