In the last two decades multiple crises and conflicts have been traditionally followed by periods of cooperation and rapprochement. Yet the Ukraine crisis seemed to have interrupted this trend. While the eruptive crises in recent years were quite visible on the surface, there was also a not-so-apparent underlying trend towards alienation on both sides. In this sense, the Ukraine crisis could be interpreted as a culmination of previously unresolved tensions and deep-rooted disagreements. The German-Russian Schlangenbad Talks, organized annually since 1998, have become a reliable trend indicator of the current state of Western-Russian relations. The study provides a differentiated picture of the past twenty years of discussions, capturing specific trends and argumentation patterns between the German and Russian political and academic elites