"On the right fringe of the CDU, in the AfD as well as in right-wing think tanks, such considerations find a great echo. Intellectuals who define themselves as national conservatives advocate rethinking the transatlantic bond and seeking an understanding with Russia. In this context, it is worth noting that a book by the publicist Johannes Barnick was recently reprinted. First published in 1959 under the title “German-Russian Neighborhood,” it calls for a strategic partnership with Russia and warns that “an alliance of the liberal West and Eastern European nationalism” would mean renewed encirclement for Germany. Mr. Barnick’s thesis is now defended by Vladimir Putin’s biographer Thomas Fasbender, who considers a partition of Ukraine inevitable. "