On April 23, 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a speech on the Russia-Ukraine issue and Germany's relations with Russia at an event to mark the 300th anniversary of Kant's birth. In fact, there is only one fuse, German Chancellor Scholz believes that Kant is a great German philosopher and thinker, while Russian President Putin has abused Kant's thought, in fact, this is a blasphemy of Kant's thought, but also a disrespect for Kant. Therefore, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused in public that Putin is not qualified to quote Kant's remarks at all, and Putin's quotation of Kant's remarks is actually the greatest disrespect for Kant.
What people did not expect was that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's emotional accusation caused an uproar, and the Russian side directly accused German Chancellor Scholz of talking nonsense and nonsense. German netizens also believe that German Chancellor Scholz is indeed crazy, Russian President Putin just quoted Kant's words, Scholz thinks that Putin does not even have the right to quote, it is undoubtedly difficult for a strongman, and Scholz does not have so much right to seal Russian President Putin's mouth.
Scholz's accusation that Putin is not qualified to quote Kant, a very famous German philosopher of the classical period who still has a global influence even today. Kant put forward the idea of "permanent peace" in view of the divided state of Germany at that time and the continuous war in Europe, Kant believed that as long as a country insists on not interfering in the internal affairs of another country, all parties can be at peace, so as to build a lasting peace in Europe, in fact, the idea of "permanent peace" is the concentrated embodiment of Kant's political concept. Scholz believes that Putin directly invaded Ukraine, and now he is talking about Kant's idea of "permanent peace", which is undoubtedly a big knife in front of the public gate, and it is purely a fool, and this is also the reason why Scholz is not satisfied.
The outside world believes that the reason why Scholz is dissatisfied with Russian President Putin's quote from Kant is purely a conceptual discord. In fact, the reason is not here at all, the fundamental purpose of Scholz's accusation of Putin through Kant is Kaliningrad, and the reason for this judgment is also based on many reasons.
First, in terms of Kant's origins, Kant was born in the present-day Kaliningrad region, which was formerly known as Königsberg when he was in Germany. Königsberg, as a traditional Prussian territory, was also a mecca for German thought in Prussian times, because the great thinker Immanuel Kant was born here. The strategic position of Königsberg was so crucial that it changed hands several times in the history of Europe, especially in the process of Germany becoming a unified state. In general, the Germans had a very deep affection for Königsberg, which in German history also considered Königsberg its own inalienable territory, but all the circumstances changed completely after World War II.
After the victory in World War II, as punishment for Germany, Königsberg was assigned to the Soviet Union, which directly renamed it Kaliningrad. From 1945 to the present, Kaliningrad has gone through the Soviet period, and now the Russian period has passed for decades, and the Russians living in this land naturally do not regard Kant as a German thinker, but think that Kant is a Russian thinker, which is why Putin praised Kant at Kaliningrad University. Russia's approach has deeply stung the Germans, who in their minds Kant is a German thinker, so when Scholz commemorated the 300th anniversary of Kant's birth, he suddenly used Kant to attack Putin, because Scholz really could not tolerate Russia's falsification of history.
Second, Scholz challenged Putin at this time, arguing that Putin was not qualified to quote Kant's words because Germany had previously had relatively friendly relations with Russia. Therefore, on the Kaliningrad issue, Germany has always adhered to the principle of recognizing reality and abiding by international law, because this is the prerogative of the victors of World War II, and if Germany insists on raising the question of Kaliningrad's ownership to Russia, it will inevitably destroy friendly relations with Russia and at the same time shake the international order of World War II. Before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, this is something that Germany simply did not want to see, and this is something that Germany simply did not dare to do, but now the opportunity has come. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russia stood on the opposite side of the entire West, and Scholz believes that even Japan, which suffered two atomic bombs from the United States, can be armed under the loosening of the United States, and Germany can also have its own ideas. If Germany can successfully regain Königsbergberg, Germany's homeland, it will not only greatly boost the German national spirit, but also demonstrate Germany's influence in Europe. In this sense, it can be seen that Scholz is ostensibly criticizing Putin for not being qualified to quote Kant's words, but in fact he is concerned about the question of Kaliningrad's belonging.
Third, since Scholz is both overtly and covertly focused on the question of Kaliningrad's ownership, it actually means that Germany's relations with Russia must be severed, and Germany must also bear enormous pressure from Russia. After all, from the Soviet era to the current Russian period, although Kaliningrad is an enclave, Russia attaches great importance to the construction of Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad is home to the Baltic Fleet, and there are still hundreds of thousands of inhabitants living in question, and Russia is doing everything it can to turn Kaliningrad into a political showcase for Europe and show Russia's strength. At the same time, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has further strengthened its military presence in Kaliningrad as geopolitical tensions are high.
Although Scholz has Kaliningrad in mind, it is very, very difficult to take Kaliningrad smoothly from Russia, and it is even an impossible task. The reason for this is simple: once the question of Kaliningrad's ownership is put on the agenda between Germany and Russia, it actually means that Germany and Russia are close to declaring war as a final step. After all, as the victor of World War II, much of Russia's territory was acquired during this period, and if German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wanted to take back Garililinggrad, it would undoubtedly shake the very foundation of the Russian state.