Originally published on Dec 8, 2025.
Being a “Putin-versteher”—a “Putin-understander”—is one of the worst accusations one can make against someone in German-speaking Europe. It usually comes from people who believe they know exactly what Russia really wants. But is the West even capable of understanding what its counterpart is striving for?Today I’m speaking for the second time with Dr. Petra Erler, a German political scientist and former State Secretary of the GDR. Together with her husband, Günter Verheugen, she recently published the book “Der lange Weg zum Krieg: Russland, die Ukraine und der Westen – Eskalation statt Entspannung” (“The Long Road to War: Russia, Ukraine, and the West – Escalation Instead of De-escalation”).
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