When the Soviet Union just disintegrated, the reformists of former Russian President Yeltsin regarded Russia as a part of Europe and thought that Russia could benefit from its integration into Europe. This warm wind of European integration also influenced Putin at the beginning of his administration.
Putin is the first Russian leader to give a speech in the German Federal Parliament. In September, 200012000, he outlined Russia's vision of European destiny in this speech, and said that European culture "has always been our common wealth". German lawmakers cheered and applauded him. They marveled that Putin could speak German so fluently.
At that time, when former German Chancellor gerhard schroder was in power, he was a famous "pro-Russian faction". According to the website of American Foreign Policy magazine, during his tenure from 1998 to 2005, Schroeder seemed to try his best to build a friendly partnership between Germany and Russia and actively develop his personal relationship with Putin.
Schroeder once publicly called Putin a "perfect Democrat" and played down "the war launched by Russia in Chechnya". In the autumn of 2005, Schroeder and Putin signed the "Beixi" pipeline agreement to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. A week later, Schroeder stepped down as prime minister, and a month later, he became the chairman of the board of directors of the joint venture company of "Beixi" project. ?
Since the 20th century, the relationship between Britain and Russia has not been smooth, especially the poisoning incident of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko in Britain in 2007.
Four years later, British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Russia and met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin successively, hoping to use this trip to strengthen political and commercial ties between Britain and Russia before Putin may return to the presidency. But at that time, the BBC said that a visit of less than 24 hours was not enough to warm up relations between the two countries. After all, Putin has never had any contact with British ministerial officials for more than four years.
The relationship between major European countries and Russia has been stumbling until 20 14. Foreign Policy says that everything has changed since then. After Crimea joined Russia, Merkel led the EU to take tough measures against Russia and impose economic sanctions. Even the German business community, which once supported the establishment of a "special relationship" between Germany and Russia, supported Merkel's position.
France, which has a traditional historical friendship with Russia, is no exception. In 2003, these two countries * * * opposed the US invasion of Iraq and let them get close. Until 20 12, former French President Hollande came to power, the two sides were alienated because of Syria and other issues. After the Ukrainian crisis, France cancelled its huge arms deal with Russia and strongly supported sanctions against Russia. The Crimean issue has become the second turning point in Russian-European relations.
The deterioration of Russian-European relations has also made more and more Russians regard Europe as an enemy. At one time, from about 2007, some Russian politicians supported Russia's accession to the European Union, and it is said that former Italian Prime Ministers Silvio Berlusconi and Schroeder also expressed their support.
In 20 13,13 of Russians expressed their wish to join the EU, and more than half of them thought that the EU was friendly to Russia. The time has reached 20 17 and 12. According to the Levada Center poll, 66% of Russians regard the EU as one of their main enemies.
Extended data:
Russia (Russian Federation): Russian Federation (Russia: росийскаяедераци).
It is a federal constitutional country consisting of 22 autonomous republics, 46 states, 9 border areas, 4 autonomous regions,/kloc-0 autonomous prefectures and 3 municipalities directly under the central government. The national flag is white, blue and red. The main body of the national emblem is a double-headed eagle pattern.
Russia is located in the northern part of Eurasia, spanning two continents, with a land area of17,098,200 square kilometers. It is the largest country in the world and a unified multi-ethnic country composed of 194 ethnic groups. The main ethnic group is Russian, accounting for 77.7% of the country's total population.
The ancestors of Russians are Russian tribes of Eastern Slavs. /kloc-At the end of 0/5, Russian Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia established the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Ivan IV claimed to be the czar in 1547, and Peter I was awarded the title of "All-Russian Emperor" by the Senate in 172 1 and established the Russian Empire.
It embarked on the road of foreign aggression and expansion, once annexed many countries in Europe and Asia, and reached its peak during the reign of Catherine II in the middle and late 8th century. Soviet Russia was established after the October Revolution of 19 17. 1922 12 30, the Russian Federation and the South Caucasus Federation, Ukraine and Belarus form the Soviet Union? . During the cold war, it became a superpower and competed with the United States for hegemony by vigorously developing its military strength.
199 1 year 65438+February 25th, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia, the largest joining country, inherited most of the military forces of the Soviet Union. Have the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. In the international system of "one superpower, many powers", Russia is a powerful country with great influence, with strong military strength, especially in higher education and aerospace technology, which ranks among the best in the world.
Russia is also one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and has veto power over the resolutions of the Security Council. In addition, Russia is one of the BRICS countries.
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