‘It was the first election where I could vote — and didn’t know the result in advance.’ Meet Russian-born Berlin politician Elizaveta Kapinos.
Voting in elections for Berlin’s House of Representatives (the city parliament) and district councils ended on September 20. The vote decided who will govern Germany’s capital for the next five years. Among the winners was Elizaveta Kapinos, a Russian woman who moved to Germany in 2020. She was ninth on the Greens’ party list in Tempelhof-Schöneberg, where the party won 14 district council seats.…
Elizaveta Kapinos, a Russian-born politician now representing Berlin's Tempelhof-Schöneberg district, shared her story with Meduza. Born in Kamchatka, she moved to Germany in 2020. Kapinos was ninth on the Greens' party list during the city's recent elections, winning 14 district council seats. She expressed her surprise at the Greens' performance, noting they received 15% of the votes in Berlin.
Kapinos moved to Moscow for university, where she studied international relations, and later returned to Berlin on an exchange in 2018. She fell in love with the city's progressive atmosphere and vibrant student community. However, she noted that Berlin has become more cautious about the future due to recent crises, including rising living costs. Despite this, she remains proud of her city and its openness.
Written by urgent.news from Meduza (English)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
