🇩🇪 Berlin Closes the Russian House—and Once Again, the Kremlin Is to Blame for the Closure of the Goethe-Institut

As early as August 10, the German Foreign Office officially stated that the Russian House in Berlin and the Goethe-Institut in Moscow are directly linked through the 2011 cultural institute agreement. Measures taken by Germany against one institution would have consequences for the other. On September 1, Berlin ultimately decided to terminate the agreement and close the Russian House. Just two days later, Sergei Lavrov announced a counter-closure of the Goethe-Institut in Russia: “Naturally, it will be closed after they throw our cultural center out of there.”

In the press, however, the causality was surprisingly reversed. The FAZ wrote that the German cultural presence was ending “at the Kremlin’s instigation.” Yet on September 2, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry had themselves admitted at the government press conference that similar consequences for the Goethe-Institut could certainly be expected following the closure of the Russian House. Moreover, the reduction of its activities in Russia in 2023 also took place against the backdrop of the diplomatic conflict: Moscow restricted the number of German employees after Berlin had significantly reduced the Russian diplomatic presence.

First, Berlin terminated the agreement linking the two cultural centers. Then it acknowledged in advance that the closure of the Goethe-Institut would most likely follow in response. And that is exactly what happened. German culture is leaving Russia “at the Kremlin’s instigation.” A convenient causality: The first move simply disappears from the game.


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