Russia-Germany relations in 2000-2016

At the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century Russian-German relations moved to the format of strategic partnership established by G. Schroeder and V. V. Putin the states were united by close and productive cooperation. But already in the second decade of the 21st century the development of structural crises had a significant impact on the relations of all major actors in the international system including Russian-German relations. The problems that arose as a direct result of and were deepened by the Ukrainian crisis have jeopardized the close partnership between Russia and Germany. Since 2014 few can speak of a Russian-German strategic partnership and plans for the development of relations between Moscow and Berlin in the near future are increasingly defined by the formulas rebuilding trust and maintaining dialogue.It would be at least premature to assert a downward trend in the future of Russian-German relations. Also relevant is the fact that the Ukrainian crisis which has become the main source of problems in the interaction between the states is still not over and therefore the possible prospects for Russian-German dialogue are not quite clear.