This article is not the result of a current impulse, indignation or partisanship. Rather, it is the result of a long period of observation - and a growing sense of unease. I have been studying Russia not just since the war in Ukraine. My interest goes back further. I had already studied Russian as a foreign language at school, and at that time I studied the language, history and mentality in a very relaxed way. This early interest led me to follow developments there over the years without constantly changing my perspective.<\/p>\n
This is precisely why I am shocked today by how crude, how simplistic and how self-assured many images about Russia and its alleged goals are placed in the public sphere - often without sources, without context, sometimes even without any internal logic. It becomes particularly irritating when such narratives not only appear in talk shows or commentary columns, but are also adopted almost without reflection by journalists, politicians or other official voices. At some point, the question inevitably arises:<\/p>\n
Is that actually true?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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