I lived in Berlin from 2007 to 2010, and watching this made me curious whether my memories of that period were just personal impressions or reflected real structural conditions at the time. When I was there, energy security was not a constant topic of public concern, and Russian gas was treated as a stable, almost background assumption of European life.
I went back and checked the data. During that period, Germany was already sourcing roughly 35–40% of its natural gas from Russia, with a significant portion transiting through Ukraine. Despite the 2006 and 2009 Russia–Ukraine gas disputes, Germany’s supply was largely maintained, which reinforced confidence in the arrangement. At the same time, Germany was already committed to phasing out nuclear power and expanding natural gas as a bridge fuel.
In retrospect, the calm I remember wasn’t accidental. It was supported by cheap energy, uninterrupted supply, and policy decisions that deferred risk rather than eliminated it. The memories and the facts align more than I expected. youtu.be/zRG_ABrvL…