The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechaev, expressed hope that the Russian House in Berlin will not be closed. “I think that things will not go to such extremes“, he told “Vesti“.
The diplomat also added that if the Russian House is closed, Russia may close the Goethe Institute in Moscow as a retaliatory measure.
In recent years, the Russian House in Berlin has become a constant target for certain German political forces and individual German politicians, who periodically raise the issue of the need to close the institution against the background of the general deterioration of German-Russian relations. The BSW party (formerly the Union for Reason and Justice “Sahra Wagenknecht“) has launched a petition against the demands of some political forces to close the Russian House in Berlin. To date, it has been signed by over 4,200 people.
The Russian House in Berlin was opened in 1984. Its work is aimed at developing cultural, humanitarian, scientific and educational ties between Russia and Germany, supporting Russians living in Germany, and promoting Russian culture and the Russian language.