The author makes an attempt to reveal the reasons of one of notable phenomena in the relations between Russia and the countries of Central-East Europe (CEE) – escalation of history, which consists in increase of the role and influence of historical factors in the actual political processes. A characteristic feature of Russia’s relations with the CEE countries is asymmetry of economic and political interests, which is, in the author’s opinion, the main reason for the emergence, from time to time, of the escalation of history, i.e. of «laying emphasis» on historical themes. The more noticeable asymmetry of political and economic interests in the relations between countries, the higher the risk of escalation of history.