East Germany supports Russia's actions in Ukraine more than th | Ukrainian Policy Matters

East Germany supports Russia's actions in Ukraine more than the West – The Washington Post

According to a recent survey 68% of Saxon residents say that their opinion of the Russian population has not changed since the invasion. Almost 4 out of 10 say that their perception of Putin has not changed either.

Across East Germany, people are 13% less likely than in the west to say that Putin's Russia poses a threat to their country, polls show. According to WP, the opinion of Germans in this part of Germany was influenced by the 40-year stay in the GDR.

It also shows the consequences of the economic and cultural ties that developed with Russia during the 30 years after the reunification of Germany in 1990.

The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, also did not support the desire of some German politicians to break off relations with the Russian Federation, which made him a lightning rod in the CDU, the newspaper writes.

His opinion reflects real politics with a tinge of lingering guilt over World War II, which distinguishes East Germany from the rest of the former Eastern Bloc.

"President Putin has been deceiving everyone for many years, presenting people and European politicians with the picture that he is a reliable, Western-oriented partner

That's not so. And many people are disappointed and angry, but we also need to find approaches that understand that Russia exists, and not far away, but right here," Kretschmer said in an interview with the Washington Post.

This proximity to Russia, he said, distinguishes Germany's position from that of the United States and requires Berlin to soften its response.

He supported the federal government's refusal to impose an embargo on Russian oil and gas – a position that polls show , is supported by the majority of the population of Saxony.

"I think it's wrong to come out of these partnerships and say, 'No more economic interdependence,'" Kretschmer said.

"It just makes everything more unpredictable. Russia, which is at least a little dependent on Europe, is a more predictable Russia," he said.