The Czech-Russian Relations: the Models of the Bilateral Links

The article explores Czech-Russian relations in a broad chronological framework, which includes historical patterns and approaches that influence bilateral contacts up to date. The author concludes that the ties established in the New Age based on ideas of Slavic unity and, more importantly, of Russia as a great Eastern power, the defender of oppressed peoples, and, therefore, an instrument for achieving Czech interests. However, its intellectual elite, since the middle of the 19th century, has always been divided into two self-sufficient groups - opponents of Russia and its supporters, who constantly have been influencing internal life. Ignoring Russia after collapse of the Eastern Bloc as an important factor in Czech foreign policy was eliminated at the beginning of the new millennium. It is symptomatic that the Crimea crisis of 2014, which should have pushed the Czechs away from Russia, because of historical parallels with the events of 1968, showed that in the context of the global crisis, significance of Russia for the Czech Republic only increase. Russia was always interested in strengthening influence in Central Europe and was set to use the possibility to spread its influence, whether by political, economic or ideological means.