How has the image of Putin in Germany changed over time?

Created: 07/07/2022, 15:11

By: Bettina Menzel

After his speech in the German Bundestag, Russian President Vladimir Putin walks through the plenary hall in the Reichstag building, followed by Federal President Rau, Bundestag President Thierse and Federal Chancellor Schröder (archive photo, 2001).

© picture-alliance / dpa/dpaweb |

Ralf_Hirschberger

There was a time when Russia appeared as a partner and Putin received a standing ovation in the German Bundestag.

But the Germans' image of the Kremlin chief has changed over the years.

Moscow - You can't see inside the head of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin from afar.

But the Kremlin boss's positions can be tracked through public speeches and political actions - and how they changed Germans' image of Putin over time.

Vladimir Putin's famous speech in the German Bundestag receives prolonged applause

The common history of Russia and Germany goes back many centuries, at times there was even a German tsarina of Russia, Catherine the Great.

Vladimir Putin has been President of the Russian Federation since 2000. In 2001 he gave a widely acclaimed speech to the German Bundestag.

"Russian-German relations are as old as our countries," Putin said at the time.

"I am convinced that today we are turning over a new page in the history of our bilateral relations and that we are making our joint contribution to building the European house." The term "common house of Europe" comes from the former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, who agreed to German unity.

“We are of course at the beginning of building a democratic society and a market economy.

On this way we have to overcome many hurdles and obstacles.

But apart from the objective problems and despite some - frankly and frankly - clumsiness, below all beats the strong and lively heart of Russia, which is open for full-fledged cooperation and partnership," Putin said at the time.

At the time, he received prolonged applause from the members of the German Bundestag for his speech.

Russia was suddenly seen as a partner, and skepticism about the USA grew at the time because of the Iraq war.

In 2000, only around 37 percent of Germans saw Russia as a world power, according to a survey by the Allensbach Institute* commissioned by the Russian-German Forum.

A picture from another time: The then Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and the Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2002 as guests on Alfred Biolek's ARD talk show "Boulevard Bio".

(Archive image, 2002).

© picture alliance / dpa |

WDR Bockemuehl

Putin's Siko speech: More Germans perceived Russia as a world power

In his speech at the Munich Security Conference (Siko) in 2007, Putin finally initiated a turning away from the West.

"I think that for today's world, the monopolar model is not only inappropriate, but absolutely impossible," the Russian president alluded to the global power of the United States.

"No one feels safe anymore," said the Kremlin chief at the time.

He also warned NATO to move further east and called for security guarantees.

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“The use of force can only be called legitimate if it is based on a UN resolution.

And you can't replace the UN with NATO or the EU,” the Russian President said, describing his fears.

The public was surprised by the speech that the Kremlin chief had announced "without being too polite".

Observers saw it as a return to “Cold War elements”.

This also changed the way Germans viewed Russia.

In a survey conducted by the Allensbach opinion research institute in 2008, around two-thirds of those questioned (62 percent) stated that they saw Russia as a world power.

In 2000, 20 percent less were of this opinion.

The view of Russia as a threat increased over time - and Putin's image suffered.

In general, the Germans do not have a bad image of Russia, Thomas Petersen, an expert at the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion, explained to the

.

But they have a bad image of Vladimir Putin.

According to this, in 2004 only 17 percent had a bad opinion of the Kremlin boss, in 2008 it was already 45 percent, in 2014 it was 65 percent and shortly before the outbreak of the war around two thirds (67 percent), Petersen continued.

Munich Siko 2007: Edmund Stoiber (left) and Vladimir Putin in the car on the way to the conference.

© UPI Photo/Imago

Putin's annexation of Crimea: Germans increasingly see Russia again "as a danger"

The year 2014 is considered by many to be the actual start of the Ukraine war.

At that time, Russia invaded the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and took control of it in an armed conflict.

From the Russian point of view, the area was incorporated into its own territory.

As a result, NATO suspended cooperation with Russia and Putin dropped out of the group of G8 countries.

The annexation of Crimea also significantly worsened the image of Russia in Germany.

Around 25 years after the end of the Cold War, the country was again seen as a danger by many Germans.

In 2014, more than half of all Germans (55 percent) associated Russia with dangers, and 76 percent thought German-Russian relations were disturbed.

Only every tenth German saw Russia as a reliable partner.

This was the result of a survey by the Allensbach opinion research institute in 2015.

Especially after the annexation of Crimea, the image of Russia in the German mass media deteriorated, which in turn had an impact on the formation of opinions among German citizens.

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However, the Allensbach poll of the time also made it clear that the Germans saw many positive aspects of Russia beyond politics.

65 percent attributed a great cultural tradition to Russia, and almost every second person also a culture of hospitality.

In addition, the respondents associated Russia with a strong national pride, impressive landscapes, a wealth of natural resources and outstanding sporting achievements.

After the Ukraine war: German-Russian relations were permanently damaged from the point of view of German citizens

In his inflammatory speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007, the Kremlin chief himself quoted the words of US President Franklin Roosevelt from the early days of World War II: “Wherever the peace is broken, it is threatened and in danger everywhere. The quote seems more relevant than ever.

Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24 marked a turning point, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz often emphasized.

Even Putin's allies sometimes distanced themselves from his brutal actions in Ukraine.

Reports about the mysterious deaths of Russian oligarchs or a secret Putin network, as well as lobbying by Russian state-owned companies in Brussels, contributed further to the public's negative image of the Russian president.

A majority of Germans now consider German-Russian relations to be permanently damaged because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

This is the result of a recent survey by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the magazine

.

According to this, in June more than two-thirds of those surveyed (71 percent) considered it impossible that, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a return to relations between Moscow and Berlin as they existed before the start of the war is possible.