The European Union and Russia after February 24, 2022. Selected problems

Based on Marek Menkiszak's work „Greater Europe: Putin's Vision of the European (Dis)integration”, the author provides a detailed analysis of the concept of „Greater Europe” as an integrated political space with Germany's dominance in the West (within the European Union) and Russia's dominance in the East (within the Eurasian Union), formulated within the Russian geopolitical paradigm. The goals of Russia's dominance in the Eurasian space are identified, including the pursuit of hegemony, increased influence on European politics, and the weakening of American influence, among others. The failures and obstacles on the path to achieving Russia's geopolitical objectives in Europe are demonstrated. The author addresses the issue of the impact of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine on Russian-European relations and raises the question of a change in the mentality of Russian citizens in the context of perceiving and responding to the Kremlin's criminal policies.