36 years after reunification: challenges in Germany and Russian compulsory administration of Metro

On October 3, 1990, the unification treaty between the GDR and the FRG came into force. With him, the unity of Germany was restored after more than 40 years of division. But 36 years after reunification, the challenges in Germany are immense, says ZEIT author Jana Hensel. What is needed now is a policy that proactively addresses the differences between East and West. In the podcast, Hensel analyzes what this could look like in concrete terms.

Since the start of the Ukraine war, many Western companies have withdrawn from Russia. However, the German trading group Metro remained in the country. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin placed Metro's Russian business under state receivership by decree. The Russian division operates 91 wholesale stores, generates a profit of more than 130 million euros annually and recently achieved sales of around 2.6 billion euros. In addition to Metro, other German companies such as Knauf, Hochland and Globus could also be affected. Maxim Kireev, editor for international politics at ZEIT, explains what strategic goals Russia is pursuing by taking over Western companies.

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Moderation and production: Constanze Kainz

Collaboration: Simone Gaul and Mathias Peer

You can find all episodes of our podcast here. Questions, criticism, suggestions? You can reach us at [email protected].