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Author : V. Vasilyev
Senior research associate, Ye.M. Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and Interna-
tional Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Science (Political Science)
THE DEATH of Helmut Kohl, the former German
chancellor and an outstanding politician, reminded us
of a role that can be played in history by an individual
who is a strategic thinker and patient tactician, can lis-
ten to and hear partners and opponents alike, and is
open to compromise if the latter is important for the
survival of civilization. Alarming developments in
Europe and other parts of the world show that some
Western leaders' presumption of ideological superi-
ority, political arrogance, disdain for the interests of other countries, and neglect for human life
may undermine the system of international law, and sow mistrust and estrangement between
nations. Kohl is justly considered one of the most prominent figures of the German political
elite of the 1970s to the 1990s. In the radically changing postwar Europe, he showed himself to
be a world-scale politician, doing important work for the political stability of the continent and
for bringing the Cold War to an end, and advocating various forms of cooperation with the for-
mer Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia.
Kohl's life was full of events that directly affected his development as a politician. Born in the
family of a tax officer, Kohl realized at an early age that daily work, accumulation of knowledge,
and objective assessment of what was happening around him could become a good basis for
his future adult life, whether it was in business or in big politics.
He made brilliant use of a historic chance to establish close cooperation with key nations in
"older" Europe, especially France, and gave strong support to the independent policies of former
member countries of the Warsaw Treaty Organization. He spent a lot of effort helping develop
common rules of conduct for all participants in the pan-European process and lay the founda-
tions for a common European home.
As usual, one wonders what Russia's relations with Germany and the EU would be like today if
Kohl were still at the helm. Very likely, Kohl's talent for a holistic view of the world with its col-
lisions, risks, and threats would have led him to put together a team of like-minded people who
believed that the future of Europe had to rest on a renewed security architecture with the nec-
essary participation of Russia.
I believe that the paramount aspiration of the people of Crimea to be part of Russia is something
that Kohl would have been able to understand better than anyone else.
Helmut Kohl, this great European German, attached great importance to the priceless capital
of trust between Germany and Russia that had been built by many generations of German and
Russian politicians and civil society figures.
http://interaffairs.ru
Helmut Kohl: Pragmatist, Patriot, European