Statement against the continued operation of the “russian House” in Berlin

Vitsche once again calls for the immediate closure of the “russian House” still operating on Berlin’s Friedrichstraße. We cannot tolerate that this institution — a direct extension of the Kremlin’s sanctioned propaganda network — continues to operate freely in the heart of the German capital. While russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine, Berlin is hosting a building that serves as an ideological, political, and logistical platform for the Kremlin’s subversive goals.

Public Funding for Kremlin Soft Power Must End

Despite Rossotrudnichestvo — the russian state agency that operates the russian House — being under full EU sanctions since 2022, Germany continues to fund this institution indirectly. The federal government pays its annual property tax — €70,000 from the public purse — while russian missiles fall on Ukrainian cities. This isn’t about tolerating russian culture, it is actively harming German and European security.

A Hub of Propaganda, Not Culture

Rossotrudnichestvo has been identified by the EU as a network of influence agents. The russian House is not merely “promoting culture” — it is whitewashing war crimes, legitimizing imperial narratives, and facilitating pro-Kremlin activism in Germany. Investigations by Berlin’s Prosecutor’s Office, the Central Office for Sanctions Enforcement, and multiple journalists reveal an ecosystem of sanctioned actors, extremists, and russian intelligence operatives operating out of this building.

The russian House has repeatedly violated sanctions by generating income through language courses, workshops, film screenings, and restaurant sales. These are not isolated oversights — they are blatant, ongoing violations of EU law. Visitors can walk in, pay cash, and participate in a full schedule of events while Berlin authorities stand by.

Ties to the German Far-Right and Authoritarian Actors

The russian House provides a platform for AfD officials, russian-speaking extremists, and propagandists such as Jürgen Elsässer and Elena Kolbasnikova. The institution is a known venue for COMPACT events, far-right “peace” demonstrations, and so-called humanitarian fundraisers for “Donbas separatists”, namely the russian army. This is not “freedom of expression” — this is state-backed collaboration with an authoritarian aggressor under the guise of culture.

The House also hosts groups like Druschba Global and Vadar e.V., both deeply embedded in pro-russian and anti-Ukrainian activism. These networks celebrate militaristic Soviet nostalgia, spread disinformation, and openly support russian war aims.

Complicity of Germany’s Quiet Return of Cultural Diplomacy to russia

While Germany debates sanction enforcement under its new government, the Goethe-Institut under the Federal Foreign Office have begun quietly resuming cultural programs in russia. After freezing most activities in response to the 2022 invasion, they now offer mobility grants, exhibitions, and artist exchanges — all funded by German taxpayers.

One Goethe-Institut open call, referencing the painter Caspar David Friedrich, invokes vague phrases about “armed conflicts” and “migration flows” without once naming russia’s aggression. This language mirrors Kremlin disinformation that shifts blame to nameless “global instability” — a rhetorical sleight of hand that de-politicizes russia’s war of aggression.

At the Arbuzz Gallery in Moscow, publicly funded exhibitions now feature Soviet symbols, red stars, and militaristic imagery — all recontextualized as harmless “heritage” while the russian military levels Ukrainian cities. This aesthetic laundering of russian imperial violence is ethically indefensible.

We Call on Germany to Use Every Legal Mechanism to Shut Down the russian House

We urge the Federal Government, the Federal Foreign Office, the Berlin Senate, and the Ministry of Finance to immediately apply all available tools under EU sanctions law, property law, and financial enforcement mechanisms to close the russian House. Moreover we want to extend our public invitation to the representative of Ministry of International Affair for a public interview during our demonstration on June 25th. It’s time to speak.

There is legal precedent. The enforcement of sanctions includes prohibitions on income generation and the commercial use of frozen property. The building is not neutral ground — it is the Berlin headquarters of a sanctioned state agency under direct control of the russian MFA. That qualifies it for asset freeze and operational shutdown under existing EU law.

Our Demands:

• Immediately shut down the russian House and enforce EU sanctions without exception.
• Use sanctions enforcement and property seizure laws to freeze all commercial activity on site.
• Cease all public funding of sanctioned entities, directly or indirectly.
• Investigate all financial transactions and organizational partnerships linked to the russian House.
• Suspend all Goethe-Institut and Auswärtiges Amt funding of cultural exchanges with russian institutions and individuals until political accountability mechanisms are established.
• Implement strict political screening for russian nationals receiving mobility funding from any German taxpayer-funded institution.
• End all double standards that undermine German support for Ukraine while enabling russian influence and soft power.

Cultural diplomacy cannot operate in a vacuum while war crimes are committed

No more euphemisms. No more neutrality masquerading as peacebuilding. Germany must not fund russian propaganda — in Berlin, Moscow, or anywhere else.