But there remains a nagging anxiety, in capitals east and west, that the gap between them does indeed have a longer history and a greater role in the future than an analysis looking only at the Cold War division might suggest.
Andris Ozolins souligne que Adenauer a rejeté la Russie de l'Europe parce que "trop asiatique", mais pour une ancienne figure de la Mitteleuropa, Metternich, la limite du Continent se situait beaucoup plus à l'Ouest - "Bei Pressburg fängt Asien an"(109).