Analysis of the relationship between large and small states: historical transformations and specifics of Czech-Russian relations

The diploma thesis deals with Czech-Russian relations, focusing in particular on the transformations of this relationship in the context of historical development. The historical analysis is based specifically on the theoretical basis of the distinction between small and large states in international relations. From this perspective, the individual transformations of the relationship in the international context are then examined. The Czech Republic as a small state has taken various forms in its relationship with Russia in different periods. The thesis thus focuses on the development from the Czech national liberation movement and its intersections with Pan-Slavist thinking, through the dynamically developing Czechoslovak-Soviet relations, to contemporary Czech-Russian relations. Thus, in the first period, the greatest attention is paid to the personalities of Kollár, Havlíček and Kramář, who devoted a significant part of their texts to the relationship with Russia. This part is followed by T.G. Masaryk's view on the relationship with Russia, where he already moves from Tsarist Russia to Soviet Russia. Closer attention is then paid to the changes in Czechoslovak-Soviet relations in the context of the Second World War and the developments after it, where the analysis includes in particular the key transformations of the 1940s, 1968, the crisis years of the 1950s and 1989. In the last part, the Czech-Russian relationship is analysed in the context of the European integration factor, on the level of economic relations or in the context of the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. Finally, the thesis also focuses on the current developments influenced by the Vrbětice case, which also reflected on the mutual relations.