Why does Russia have a bad relationship with most European countries?

Russia is the largest country in the world today, spanning Europe and Asia, with a total area of 17098200 square kilometers. Among them, part of Russia's territory in Asia accounts for about three quarters of the total area, and the European part accounts for about one quarter of the total area. However, although most of Russia's territory is located in Asia, its political, economic and cultural center is on the European side, so Russia is a veritable European country.

However, although Russia is a part of Europe, its relations with most European countries have been bad. In the history, those continental European countries except Russia, as long as they are strong enough, will inevitably invade Russia to the east. If Russia is strong enough, it will inevitably invade to the west. What causes Russia to be incompatible with most European countries? In fact, the root of the problem was a key choice a thousand years ago.

The first regime recognized as a state in Russian history was Kiev Ross, which was founded in 882 AD. At that time, Kiev's Russia was far less powerful than today's Russia, and at its peak, it only controlled the territory from Volga River to Danube Plain.

In 955 or 956, a great event happened in Kiev, Russia. Regent Olga (mother of Sviatoslav, Archduke of Kiev) was baptized as a Christian in Constantinople, the capital of Byzantine Empire, and was given the Christian name yelena. Olga was not the first Christian believer in Kiev Ross, but she was the first truly influential believer.

Olga's conversion only represents her, not the whole Kiev Ross. But as far as her status is concerned, her beliefs are obviously enough to influence many people in Kiev Ross.

Olga's son Sviatoslav didn't follow his mother's faith, but her grandson Vladimir, the Grand Duke of Kiev, chose Christianity during his reign and formally introduced it to Russia in Kiev. Vladimir's actions have far-reaching effects. Kiev Ross initially controlled the tribes in the territory by force and forced them to pay tribute to them. When religion was introduced, people were linked by the same belief and formed a real kingdom.

So, what is the relationship between Vladimir's introduction of religion into Kiev-Russia and the later discord between Russia and most European countries? This involves two branches of Christianity: Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.

Catholicism and Orthodox Church come down in one continuous line, but later, with the great division of the Eastern and Western churches, two factions were formed. The Christianity of Ross in Kiev was introduced from Byzantium instead of Rome, so Ross's loyalty to Byzantine church is much higher than that to Roman church. This led to the exclusion of Kiev Ross from Roman Catholicism, but also made it relatively isolated from other European countries.

The difference of religious belief made Kiev Ross and later Russian dynasty lose some achievements of Roman Catholicism, and also stimulated Russia's suspicion and hostility to the West. The most obvious is the irreconcilable contradiction between Orthodox Russia and Catholic Poland. This is the contradictory source of repeated invasion and anti-invasion by both sides in history.

References: Russian history