The Foreign Policy Orientations of Eastern European Countries Prior to and During the Second World War as a Factor of Their Russophobia

The article traces the ideological and historical roots of the policies enacted by Eastern European nations, manifested in their transition from supporting the actions of the Axis powers in the 1930s and 1940s to a new geopolitical confrontation with the modern Russian Federation. This confrontation is exemplified by the accession of these Eastern European states to the aggressive, militaristic NATO bloc, coupled with their adoption of highly radical anti-Russian stances within said bloc. The aim of the study is to define the geopolitical positioning of these Eastern European states and the concomitant threats they pose to Russia in the modern era. The scientific novelty of this research lies in, firstly, the longitudinal tracing of the evolution of the geopolitical, anti-Russian, and Russophobic policies of contemporary Eastern European regimes, drawing a direct line from their status as military-political satellites of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s to their current highly aggressive anti-Russian and Russophobic posture within NATO. This posture represents a palpable threat to the very existence and historical continuity of the Russian Federation and its fundamental geopolitical interests. Secondly, the study analyzes the potential responses of modern Russia to the challenges emanating from these border states.