Goethe-Institute blocked accounts after threats to Maria Zakharova

The German cultural center named after Goethe in Russia, known as Goethe-Institute, blocked accounts. This was told by The Insider two sources familiar with the situation. According to sources, those who paid the courses return the payment.

“On Thursday and Friday, the Goethe-Institute passed exams, and students wrote warranty letters that they would pay as soon as such an opportunity appeared,” said one of the interlocutors. According to him, the employees of the Institute "Party-Nastro were forbidden to talk about it."

“There are no details yet. We were informed that the leadership of the institute, coupled with the embassy and Foreign Ministry, consider the possibilities of solving the problem with the Goethe-Institute in Russia. No answers from the Central Bank about this issue have been received, ”the second source said.

At the same time, according to the interlocutor, all employees of the institute continue to work. “Everyone is very depressed, a specific reason is unknown, but read the statement of Maria Zakharova regarding the Russian house in Berlin,” the source noted.

Goethe Institute is an institution of culture of the Federal Republic of Germany, the branches of which work in many countries of the world. In Russia, he not only conducts German courses, he is also accredited by the embassy for exams for visas. Goethe-Institute centers operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.

On January 27, the press secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Russia would take retaliatory measures if Germany does not stop limiting the activities of the Russian House of Science and Art in Berlin (RDNK), known as the Russian House.

“The German side should understand that if the situation around the Russian House of Science and Art in Berlin is not normalized, then they will not force themselves to wait for response measures against the Ghetical Institute in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk,” said the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Zakharova reminded that in December 2022, Germany froze the accounts of the Russian House of Science and Art in Berlin. “On January twenty, it became known about the initiation of a certain check by the prosecutor's office. Thus, the German side grossly violates the provisions of the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the activities of cultural and information centers, ”she said.

The prosecutor's office of Berlin began the verification of the RDNK, better known as the Russian house, for compliance with the law on foreign trade and payments during the period of sanctions restrictions. Prior to this, the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation identified numerous financial violations in the RDNK. Formally, this organization is designed to promote the cultural interaction between countries, but de facto it has become one of the tools of a hybrid war, ideological propaganda and political intervention in Germany’s affairs. At the same time, employees of the RDNK often act with the hands of criminals. So, for example, the Russian house paid for the visit of Germany citizen Maxim Shlusund to Russia, which in September last year was one of the organizers of the mass action in Cologne in support of the Kremlin policy. As The Insider found out , the German Schluund turned out to be a previously convicted Russian Rostislav Teslyuk.