Foreign Minister Wadephul terminates the contract for the Russian House in Berlin

Berlin. The contract for the Russian House in Berlin is terminated. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) announced this in Berlin. The Russian cultural institute – called the Russian House – has been controversial for years. The seven-story-high concrete block has stood on Friedrichstrasse since 1984. At that time it was the largest Soviet foreign cultural institute. It is operated by Rossotrudnichestvo, the state agency for cultural cooperation. It reports to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

The building has exhibition rooms, a concert hall, a cinema, a bookstore and a branch of the Russian Post. The program includes World War commemorations, film screenings or courses in Russian, ballet and drawing.

However, an assessment by the French Interior Ministry recently said that the house was being used by Russian secret services as a camouflage. There have been similar allegations in the past. Several politicians called for the closure of the cultural center, which itself replied that it was “an exclusively cultural institution”.

“We also know that there is more going on in this house than just harmless language courses,” said Green Party member of the Bundestag Robin Wagener to the dpa. He considers the French allegations to be plausible. For Moscow, the institute is “part of information warfare.”