One might well have thought otherwise. After all, the Germans bring with them in their wake all sorts of salutary benefits: law and order, good government, peace (as long as their orders are followed), world class beer, wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut, great pretzels, luxury automobiles, magnificent music (it is hard to beat Johann Sebastian Bach!). What more could the Russians want?

Any rational country would be more than happy that the Germans offered them such benefits, not once but twice during the last century. Do you think the Russians were appreciative? No. They are a bunch of ingrates! Instead of being open for a third "visit" by the Germans, almost their entire foreign policy was dedicated to the principle of "never again." It sometimes seemed that it consisted of little more than to preclude a third benevolent appearance across their borders of their friends, the Germans.

Thus, they tried to set up a cordon sanitaire, a buffer zone, between them and their German buddies to the west.