How does the past influence todays relationship between Russia and the west?

Question by j o: How does the past influence todays relationship between Russia and the west?
I’ve got an essay for History I need to right, and the question is, “to what extent do you think attitudes and events from the past influence today’s attitudes? Use your knowledge of the changing relationship between Russia and the West to answer this question.”

However, I don’t know how to go about answering it. Can somebody give me some points that I could work around when writing this? It only needs to be about 1 and a half pages long.

Help would be appreciated 😀

Answers and Views:

Answer by Lilitu
Okay just a few points to work around:

Afghanistan: Some western allies want Russia to help war against terror in afghanistan. Russia will never do that, because in the 1980s they suffered a disaster in Afghansitan worst than US in Vietnam when they tried to conquer the country. In this war the US supported the group that later splitted itself in North alliance and Taliban – There is even a James Bond movie about that war.

Relationship Russia – former contries of the Warsow Pakt: Many of them are very pro america and weary of russia. America gained a lot of influence in Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall. Countries such as Poland are the strongest US supporters in the European Union.

Revolutions in Georgia (country) and Ukraine: US supported the revolutionary forces in both countries five years ago. (both countries are former part of USSR). Russia saw that as an act of provocation, because it was their “back yard”.
==> Russian politics answered to that with a lot of harsh words and it helped to raise Russias broken national spirit because it gave Putin an excuse to talk about a strong Russia that need to defend itself against its enemies.

Missiles in Europe. Bush administration planned to station a few defensive missiles in Poland and Cech Republic – for the project commonly refered to as “Star Wars”. Russia again felt treatend (see above). Only after Obama took power and made some moves towards appeasment – killed the Star Wars project – both states agreed to further dismantle the atomic missiles from the cold war.
Realtions to history: Cuba missile crises, US missiles in Turky.

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