Germany’s and Russia’s positions in the world were rapidly evolving even before the September 11, 2001, attack on America. In Russia, Vladimir Putin’s election to the presidency in March 2000 marked a shift away from nationalism and political liberalization and toward economic modernization and Russia’s integration into the world economy. In Germany, Gerhard Schröder’s election to the chancellorship in September 1998 signaled the end of the postwar period and the return of a realpolitik posture, burdened by neither the guilt of Nazism nor gratitude to the United States for the Marshall Plan or its Cold War support.

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