Schroeder, who has never retired, has taken up a new position in a Russian company

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Former German Chancellor Schroeder, 82, visited a Moscow branch of the Russian Hyperglobus supermarket chain on Wednesday (October 7). He had just been hired as a member of the company's supervisory board a few days ago.

Russian RBC television footage showed supermarket employees welcoming the former German Chancellor and his wife Kim So-yeon with warm applause. Schroeder told supermarket employees: "I am very happy to be here, to see this excellent supermarket, to see the results of your work, and to meet all of your outstanding colleagues."

Schroeder, who has stepped down as German Chancellor for many years, still maintains a deep personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has recently had frequent contacts with a series of Russian companies and even Putin himself. Schroeder's close relationship with Russia has increasingly become a focus of controversy in Germany, especially since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.

What is the connection between Hyperglobus and Germany?

Russian supermarket chain Hyperglobus was originally a subsidiary of German retail giant Globus Holding. It was officially separated from its German parent company last year and is currently owned by German entrepreneur Thomas Bruch. It is completely independent legally and operationally. Just last week, Hyperglobus announced that Schroeder had been appointed to the supervisory board.

Schröder last week called for maintaining remaining trade links between Russia and countries including Germany amid sanctions imposed after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Russian business news RBK quoted Schroeder as saying: "It is in times of crisis like this that these connections are particularly important: they allow us to listen to each other and find a way forward."

What is going on between Schröder, Putin, Russia and Ukraine?

During Schröder's tenure as German chancellor, his close relationship with Putin was under scrutiny and fraught with controversy. Especially in 2004, when reporters asked Schroeder a question, he replied that he believed Putin was "a perfect democrat." Even 22 years ago, this statement was unbelievable to many - especially in a political climate where opposition was suppressed and in the war-torn Chechnya region.

After leaving politics, Schröder remained close to the Kremlin, holding a series of senior positions, most notably serving on the board of Russian oil giant Rosneft and previously on the board of the Nord Stream gas pipeline project, which is largely owned by natural gas giant Gazprom.

In 2014, shortly after Crimea was annexed by Russia and a Russian-backed civil war was brewing in Ukraine, Schroeder attended an event in St. Petersburg as a distinguished guest of the Nord Stream project and celebrated his 70th birthday in a luxurious way.

Four years later, Schröder featured prominently at the 2018 Kremlin inauguration of Putin's fourth term as president, after many in the West accused the Russian election of being a show.

In 2024, the subsidies, office space and staff that Schröder enjoyed as former chancellor were taken back. Schröder's decision to cancel this package, which is typically offered to former chancellors, was that he no longer had any obligations related to his former government role. His Social Democrats also tried several times to expel him from the party, but each time they failed because they failed to meet high legal thresholds.

Putin has proposed more than once that Schroeder can serve as a peace mediator between Russia, Ukraine and Europe - and Schroeder himself is willing to assume this role. However, with the exception of Russia, all other parties, especially Ukraine, have firmly rejected Schröder as a mediator.