German election: What’s next for the Russia-Germany relationship?

As Angela Merkel prepares for her retirement, her successor will take over at a time when Russian-German relations are at their lowest ebb in years.

Both are of a similar age, fluent speakers of each other’s native language, former residents of Dresden in communist East Germany, and defining political figures of their era. Shared experiences have underpinned the relationship between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has been at times courteous – with the pair exchanging gifts of beer and smoked fish – and at others deeply recriminatory. Merkel’s 20 visits to Moscow throughout her tenure have made her the primary representative of Europe and the West in the halls of the Kremlin.