Twentieth-century Europe, especially Central Eastern Europe, has been largely defined by Russia and Germany. In this century, cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries were as active as the fires of hatred intense. The smaller states in between, with their unstable borders and internal minorities, suffered from the powers' alliances and their antagonisms. This volume of new research in political and cultural history examines the two powers' turbulent relationship, including the pre-1914 era of exchange and cooperation; the projects of modernity in post-revolutionary Russia and Weimar Germany; the struggle for dominance over Central Europe in World War II; and mutual views of Germans and Russians after 1945. In the wake of the crucial events of 1989 and the transformation of German-Russian relations, it asks whether the configuration of Russian-German relations that once dominated twentieth-century Europe has now dissolved, leaving us to find new ways of cooperation between 'New Russia' and 'New Europe'.

On extensive factual material the author reveals the secret games of the world level. This investigation is impartial analysis of the events concerning revolutions and World Wars. It is free of any ideological cliches. Using the example of Russia and Germany we get informations about the actions of the third force in resolving its main aims - establish the world domination. The book is intended for a wide circle of readers interested in such military and political history of the twentieth century."

Russia has long been a major player in the international relations arena, but only by examining the whole century can Russian foreign policy be properly understood, and the key questions as to the impact of war, of revolution, of collapse, the emergence of the Cold War and Russia’s post-Soviet development be addressed. Surveying the whole of the twentieth century in an accessible and clear manner Russia’s International Relations in the Twentieth Century provides an overview and narrative, with analysis, that will serve as an introduction and resource for students of Russian foreign policy in the period, and those who seek to understand the development of modern Russia in an international context. The volume includes: an analysis of the major themes which surrounded Russia’s position in world affairs as one of the European Great Powers before the First World War the impact of Revolution and the emergence of Soviet foreign policy with its dual aims of normalization and world revolution the changes wrought to the international order by the rise of Nazi Germany and by the Second World War the origins and development of the Cold War the end of the Cold War and the Soviet collapse how Russia has rebuilt itself as an international power in the post-Soviet era. An essential resource for students of Russian history and International policy.

This book examines the complicated history of Germany and Russia, two of the most geopolitically important nation states in Europe.

This second volume, focusing on 1945-1991, unpacks the reasons for the Cold War and takes the reader through its ebbs, flows and unexpected end. How did the allies of World War II become enemies? The authors argue that the Cold War controversy could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, had the sides been guided by healthy pragmatism instead of ideology and megalomania. Contradictory relations between the superpowers, regional wars and conflicts, and the scramble to escape a nuclear Holocaust—all of this reads sometimes as a good detective story. Perestroika and Glasnost, useful as they might be, came too late to radically improve the poisonous atmosphere of enmity in East-West relations. The end of the Cold War did not mean the end of rivalry. Good will in this case did not guarantee good outcomes. As civilizational, cultural, personal and religious contradictions begin to replace economic and social divides, we need to be fully aware of our past if we are to do our best to resolve these issues.

Using German and previously closed or underutilized Soviet archives, this work brings to date the historiography of one of the most important aspects of twentieth-century international relations: the steps by which Germany and Soviet Russia would find common ground and establish a relationship whose impact would be felt throughout World War II.