The Geopolitics and Security Studies Center hosted a discussion on Germany’s policy towards Russia featuring German journalists Katja Gloger and Georg Mascolo. The conversation was moderated by Vytautas Leškevičius, Senior Policy Analyst at GSSC.
The discussion focused on why Germany for so long misjudged the nature of Vladimir Putin’s regime and the direction of Russian foreign policy. The conversation was based on Katja Gloger and Georg Mascolo’s recent book Das Versagen (“Failure”), which examines where and why Germany — and the West more broadly — lost its sense of reality in relation to Russia.
Katja Gloger spoke about her long professional and personal experience in Russia and reflected on how hopes for Russia’s democratic development had for years shaped German perceptions. Georg Mascolo argued that Germany’s failure was both systemic and political: warnings about the nature of Putin’s regime existed, but for too long they did not translate into practical political decisions.
The event also addressed why the German political system failed to take early warning signs seriously, including assessments coming from Eastern European countries about the threat posed by Russia. The speakers discussed the approaches of different German leaders, the growth of economic dependence on Russia, and the long-standing belief that dialogue and economic ties could serve as a stabilising force.
The discussion concluded with reflections on the shift in German policy after February 24, 2022. One of the clearest signs of this change, the speakers argued, is the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania, which reflects Berlin’s changing approach to the defence of NATO’s eastern flank.