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Goethe-Institut closures announced
Russia announced it would close Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural centres in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg after Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at the Leipzig/Halle Airport.
“Lavrov said Thursday that Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural centers would be closed in Russia”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that the closures would follow Berlin’s expulsion of the Russian House cultural center in Berlin.
Lavrov told reporters, according to state news agency TASS, "which means the end of their cultural presence in Russia," as Germany said it regretted the decision and called it unjustified and damaging.
Germany’s response to the August drone incident also included closing the Russian consulate in Bonn, and on Wednesday Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of the German Embassy in Moscow to protest Berlin’s response.
Retaliation and competing narratives
El País described the Kremlin’s decision as a response to Berlin’s measures after the sabotage, quoting Lavrov as arguing, “If we don’t do it, we wouldn’t be respecting ourselves,” and saying the move predicted “means the end of their cultural presence in Russia.”
Reuters reported that Lavrov said Russia would close the centres after Germany halted the operation of the Russian centre in Berlin, and cited Germany’s closure of a Russian cultural centre in Berlin and a consulate in Bonn.
Reuters also said President Vladimir Putin accused Germany of planting evidence in order to blame Moscow for the incident, while Russia’s first Goethe-Institut opened in Moscow in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Kyiv Post said Lavrov rejected Russia’s involvement in the drone incident and quoted him at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok: “Of course, they will be closed after our cultural center was kicked out of Berlin.”
What comes next
DW reported that Russia threatened to take further measures, possibly including the closure of Germany's consulate general in St. Petersburg, after Germany blamed Russia for the Leipzig/Halle Airport drone incident.
“possibly including the closure of Germany's consulate general in St. Petersburg”
El País said the Russian government will lock the doors to the institution’s campuses in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg, and framed the decision as decreed after Germany pointed to Russia as responsible for the drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.
DW added that Lavrov said the Goethe-Institut had remained open “despite all the Ukrainian complications in our relations with the West,” and that Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the Goethe-Institut “has played an important role in Russia as a cultural bridge.”
In parallel, Reuters said Lavrov’s deputy, Alexander Grushko, told reporters Russia would retaliate "very soon" for the closure of the Bonn consulate, extending the dispute beyond the Goethe-Institut centres.