Originally Posted by
sheikhthecamel
My 2cents on this, from dealings there: German industry and politics are inextricably linked. German industry is (a) notoriously slow to change and (b) take the long, long view. Given that Russia was a major trading partners, and given that at some point in the future Russia will return to the global fold, German industry want to be at the forefront of the economic opportunities that will come out of this mess eventually. That means treading a very fine line that stays as close as close to neutral as possible to avoid antagonizing the bear. They've taken a leaf out of the Swiss playbook here.
Another factor to consider is that re-unification is only a generation behind us. Eastern Germans over 50 may still have some empathy for Russia. Many of these were taught Russian in school and grew up under the influence of Russian culture, so there remain historical ties (social, political economic....) that influence their thinking and their political vote...
I have never read anything that indicated the ordinary Ossi had the least bit of sympathy for Russia/Russian occupiers. More likely that they loathed them, seeing them as the driving force behind their deeply unpopular DDR government.