Photo Gallery Putin and Merkel's Difficult Relationship
Ties between Russia and Germany are at a lower point now than they have been in years. Much of the trouble can be found in the difficult relationship between President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Russian voters returned Putin to the presidency earlier this year and was inaugurated on May 7. He believes that the Western model has passed its zenith and is on the decline.
While Germany had been hoping that Putin's predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev, would prove to be a reformer, Putin's re-election has demonstrated that such hopes were in vain. Here, opposition protesters are detained on the streets of Moscow in mid-May.
Germany believes that Russia still considers itself a global power despite its weakness. Here, a rehearsal in Moscow's Red Square for the Victory Day parade in early May.
Merkel had hoped that Medvedev would run for re-election as president and felt duped when he and Putin announced they were simply switching roles ahead of Russian presidential elections this spring. Medvedev moved back into his previous role as prime minister.
Whereas Russian-German relations have been warm in the past, meetings between Putin and Merkel tend to be cold and business-like.
On a personal level, Merkel isn't terribly fond of Putin's open displays of masculinity, such as during his periodic fishing trips in Siberia.
Putin has made it a habit to stage photo shoots out in the wild. Here, he takes part in an expedition to inspect snow leopard habitat in the Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Preserve in Siberia.
During a meeting at Putins vacation residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi in January 2007, Putin allowed his black Labrador Koni to sniff his guests pants. Merkel has been afraid of dogs since being bitten by one as a child. Putin only smiled.
