President of Goethe-Institut warns of the “end of an era in German-Russian cultural ties” as the Kremlin moves to shut branches nationwide
Goethe-Institut President Gesche Joost said that Russia and Germany had reached “the end of an era” in cultural ties after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that branches of the German cultural center in Russia would soon be closed, according to a statement released by Goethe-Institut on Sept. 3. On Sept. 1, Germany formally accused Moscow of organizing a failed attack on…
The President of Goethe-Institut, Gesche Joost, has warned that the cultural ties between Germany and Russia have reached an "end of an era" following Russia's decision to close branches of the German cultural center in the country. On September 3, Goethe-Institut released a statement informing the public of this decision, which came after Russia accused Germany of organizing a failed attack on an airport in Leipzig/Halle in early August.
In response, German authorities closed the Russian House in Berlin and Moscow's consulate in Bonn. The Goethe-Institut is a state-backed cultural organization responsible for promoting German culture abroad through language courses, libraries, events, and exchanges. The Russian House, informally known as Russia's state cultural center, is operated by the cultural outreach organization Rossotrudnichestvo.
Joost stated that Moscow's decision would signify the end of a new chapter in Russian-German cultural relations, which began in the 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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