Russland verstehen?
- Klaus von Beyme, Jens Siegert
- In dialogue
Ever since Vladimir Putin took up office as President of Russia, the country has been trapped in a period of ongoing economic downturn. The major causes of this economic crisis are a failure to modernise the economy, the dramatic fall in oil prices and the sanctions that have been imposed by the West following the annexation of Crimea and the escalations of violence in Eastern Ukraine.
At the same time, opinion polls in Russia suggest that President Putin is more popular than ever. Indeed, over 90% of Russians would welcome a situation in which “Crimea once again belonged to Russia”. A majority of the Russian population considers their country to be in a state of geographical conflict with “the West” and only a small minority fear that increasing limits placed on democracy and human rights might lead to another period of dictatorship.
How has the atmosphere in Russia changed since the protests held against Putin in winter 2011 /2012? What role has the West played? What action must Germany now take? And how should the EU react to the annexation of Crimea and to the war taking place in Eastern Ukraine?
With:
Dr. Klaus von Beyme: Professor and acting director of the Institute for Political Sciences at the University of Heidelberg (Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Universität Heidelberg) from 1974 until 1999.
Jens Siegert: Director of the Russian office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung) in Moscow since 1999. On his Russian blog, Siegert provides up-to-date information regarding current Russian politics and issues affecting Russian civil society.
An event organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Baden-Württemberg, in co-operation with DAI Heidelberg.
