ZSRR wobec problemu zjednoczenia Niemiec w latach 1989–1990

The Soviet Union’s Attitude Towards the Problem of the Unification of Germany in 1989–1990

THE AIM OF the article is the presentation of the Soviet Union’s influence on the process of the unification of Germany in 1989–1990. The author presents the relations between the Soviet Union and both of German states aft er the beginning of Mikhail Gorbachev’s leadership in the USSR. The Soviet’s relations with the GDR initially seemed to be harmonious, but then the East German’s authorities did not approve Russian’s Perestroika and both leaders – Gorbachev and Honecker – were on a different wavelength. The policy of the Soviet Union and West Germany evolved differently. The relationship between them developed towards mutual understanding and cooperation. Helmut Kohl’s government understood that the key for the German Unification was in Moscow. The author describes West German’s efforts to gain Gorbachev’s approval for the unification of Germany and the evolution of the Soviet attitude towards it in 1989–1990.