Russia closes branches of Goethe Institutes

After the closure of the Russia House

Lavrov reacts to German sanctions

Russia closes the Goethe Institutes in the country. The Kremlin is reacting to German sanctions after the drone incident in Leipzig.

The government in Moscow according to the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the Goethe Institutes in Russia close. According to the Interfax news agency, the minister said in Vladivostok that it was a reaction to the announced closure of the Russian House in Berlin. The Federal Government had the Russia House closed as a result of the discovery of an explosive drone on the Leipzig/Halle Airport announced. Berlin blames Moscow for the attempted attack.

According to the Goethe-Institut, in addition to the main office in Moscow, there are also cultural institutions in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. “Of course they will be closed after our cultural center is expelled from there (Berlin),” Lavrov said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Germany consciously accepts that the step against the Russian House “clearly means the end of its cultural life
“Presence in the Russian Federation means”.

Despite all the tensions with the West because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the institute was able to continue working, said Lavrov. The Goethe-Institut is one of the last German institutions still active in Russia. Russia had declared a large number of foundations and organizations undesirable and thereby banned them from operating.

The day before, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d’affaires of the German Embassy in Moscow to challenge Berlin’s sanctions following the discovery of an explosives drone on the Airport Leipzig/Halle to protest. The ministry said the summons was made because of the anti-Russian actions and statements made by the German leadership.

The Russian side rejects the “completely made-up allegations of Russian involvement in the alleged incident at the airport Leipzig decidedly back,” said a statement after the conversation. Berlin resort to “open provocation” to undermine Russian-German relations. “The actions of the German government will be followed by a harsh response,” threatened the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

Russia has announced further countermeasures. One possibility that is still conceivable is the closure of the consulate general in St. Petersburg. In the past, both sides had closed mutual consulates as a result of sanctions.

Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) this week blamed Russia for the drone incident at the beginning of August and announced punitive measures. Wadephul said that about the Russian consulate in Bonn should be closed.