Russland – alter Freund mit neuem Gesicht (English shop)

Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und Russland in Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft

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The book “Russland – alter Freund mit neuem Gesicht” (“Russia – Old Friend with a New Face”) by Illya Kozyrev does not offer an ordinary comparison between Russia and Germany. Rather, the author shows the German reader today’s Russia by pursuing key questions: Where do the historical links between the two countries lie? What does Russia mean today? Why is it so frequently referred to as ’Putin’s Russia’ in current literature? Which path is the largest country in the world taking? Which processes are taking place in ’Putin’s Russia’ today?

In the course of the study, the author also analyses the close relationship between Putin and Schröder, along with the resulting political and economic consequences for both countries. He observes: “Today we are experiencing a new wave of warmth of heart between Germany and Russia. This time it is, on the one hand, a matter of genuine friendship, friendship between Russia’s President Putin and the former Federal Chancellor Schröder, which is viewed favourably by the Russian population and Russian politicians, but which in Germany is repeatedly met with derision and criticism…” On the other hand, one can see the young seedling of rapprochement between the two peoples sprouting.

This book also addresses burning questions that concern both countries: the ethnic Germans from Russia, the development of democratic structures and, of course, the topic of energy security, which has been present in all the media for months. “The Russian Federation, or rather Putin personally, is repeatedly accused of attempting to exert power over other countries by turning the price screw on raw materials…” The author gets to the bottom of these accusations.

Illya Kozyrev shows the German reader the face of the new Russia in various dimensions, from the renewed rise to become the second world power, through freedom of the press, the Chechnya conflict and the fight against the “oligarchs”, to the cliché-laden notion of the “new Russians”. And the author concludes: “Clichés then occasionally mix with thoroughly researched material. Golden toilet seats of the new rich Russians, their yachts and villas, billion-dollar sums and secret services…” All of this needs to be clarified.

The book offers a number of photographs which the author himself took in July 2006, in a country that was just then awaiting the G8 summit.

Not least, Illya Kozyrev examines the new system of values in Russia, changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and assesses the future of German-Russian relations.