Russian House in Berlin closed – Goethe Institute discontinued in Russia

It's rare that foreign cultural policy becomes the focus of daily politics, but it's that time again. The federal government is closing the Russian House in Berlin, after which the Russian government announced the end of the Goethe Institutes in Russia. This is rightly seen as a sign of the state of the relationship between the two states: cultural exchange between Germany and Russia began after the end of the Soviet Union with increased commitment and freedom. Now this era is over.