Abstract
In Germany, signs are emerging of a change in policy towards Russia. A new generation is entering the political stage, and calls are repeatedly being made to resolve the confrontation.
Nevertheless, there is every indication that the policy adopted by Berlin since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and unleashed the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine will remain in place. There is now no hope left for a partnership with a democratic, constitutional Russia.
Attempts to maintain or renew contacts are not a reflection of a new perspective on Moscow's policies, but rather a return to the old hope of gradual change in Russia. Only the two parties on the right and left fringes, the AfD and Die Linke, are unconcerned that authoritarian Russia is working against Germany's core interest in maintaining a rule-based international order.