2023-06-01 22:09:00
Russian-German relations have been dealt the most powerful blow in the entire post-war history of relations between Germany and Russia. How will the cultural exchange between the two countries and the popularization of the German language in Russia be affected by the new restrictions, which provide for a reduction in the number of civil servants of the FRG in Russia to 350 people?
How does the Goethe Institute plan to continue working in Russia?
The Goethe-Institut has been operating in Russia for 30 years. After February 24, 2022, his cooperation with the Russian state authorities was frozen, public events were no longer held. However, language courses were offered and the opportunity to take language certificate exams in Russia continued after the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, the demand for German language courses remained high.
The Kremlin’s decision to reduce the German presence is a blow to cultural exchange. As the president of the Goethe-Institut Carola Lentz said in Munich, this entails radical restrictions in all areas of work of all three departments of the institute – in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.
In the future, only the library will work in the departments of the institute in Moscow and St. Petersburg. “Offers for language courses and qualifying exams should be discontinued indefinitely,” Carola Lenz told AFP.
As the Goethe-Institut explained in response to a request from DW, due to the ongoing blocking of accounts and the current dramatic situation with staff, the institute will be forced to suspend language courses and exams for the summer term from June. Language courses are offered by a total of 20 language learning centers and partners that are accredited and certified by the Goethe-Institut. “We will prioritize supporting our network partners and ensuring the quality of their offerings. For German teachers – more than 10,000 teachers still teach German as a foreign language in Russian schools – our website has offers for free teaching of German in classrooms in digital format,” commented at the Goethe-Institut.
Despite the fact that such a scenario of the development of events was predictable, the current decision of the Russian side is a strong blow to the work of the institute, Carola Lenz emphasized. “Tearing down the last bridges at the level of civil society is deeply contrary to our beliefs,” she laments. The head of the institute, according to her, is now in her thoughts with colleagues in Russia, many of whom have been working for the benefit of cultural exchange between the Russian Federation and Germany for several decades.
“Had to lay off local employees in large numbers”
At the request of DW, the Goethe Institute in Germany clarified that the current cuts did not affect German employees who worked in Russia, but local workers, who, unfortunately, had to be fired in large numbers after the restrictions were introduced. The Russian side provided for an extremely short period. In addition, it was obvious what difficulties her own citizens and German employees would have to face. “Given the current situation and, above all, the really long and trusting cooperation with our colleagues, we have made every effort to make the layoffs as socially acceptable as possible. However, a very bitter aftertaste still remains,” the DW Goethe-Institut said in a response.
Commenting on the situation to the German media, Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe Institute, who headed this institution in Moscow for five years, said: “I know what a huge contribution Russian employees made to international cultural exchange. Now I am very worried about them.” He confirmed the Institute’s intentions and desire to maintain its presence in all three cities and maintain the quality of German language teaching and German language examinations, while remaining a platform for open cultural exchange.
According to Ebert, the institute’s branch in Novosibirsk will be the most affected by the measures to reduce activity. The leadership of the department of language work in Novosibirsk will be carried out directly from Germany. The workplaces of local employees will be located in the premises of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Novosibirsk. Leasing agreements for the premises of the Goethe-Institut in Novosibirsk are planned to be terminated due to new circumstances.
“A serious blow to bilateral relations”
DW has reached out for comment on the current situation in Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. It is one of the largest cultural institutions in the world, it manages 17 state museums in Berlin, including Pergamon, the Bode Museum and the National Gallery.
“This is a serious blow to bilateral relations. Due to such unjustified actions, it will be increasingly difficult to find common ground in the future,” he said.resident of the Hermann Parzinger Foundation. According to him, as if Russia’s criminal aggressive war against Ukraine was not terrible enough in itself, in addition to this, Russia’s cultural alienation from Europe is taking on increasingly grotesque forms and causing enormous damage, primarily to the Russians themselves.
“The destruction of the last bridges, apparently, should not leave a common foundation in the future. However, a look at history shows that this would not be the first time that a totalitarian state has ultimately failed,” Parzinger stressed.
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