Interior minister of Thuringia accuses right-wing AfD party of spying for Russia based on numerous “intelligence-gathering” inquiries

Georg Maier, the interior minister of the German state of Thuringia, announced that he has evidence suggesting possible espionage activities carried out by Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the interests of Russia. As the German business-focused newspaper Handelsblatt reports, Maier's concerns are shared by Marc Henrichmann, chair of the Bundestag committee overseeing intelligence services, and his deputy, Konstantin von Notz.

According to Maier, AfD consistently uses parliamentary inquiries to gather information about Germany’s critical infrastructure — from transport networks and water supply to digital systems and the energy sector. In Thuringia alone, the party submitted 47 such inquiries over the past year, and their nature, the minister said, has become increasingly detailed. Similar inquiries are being filed at the federal level, which, in Maier’s view, raises suspicions of possible coordination. AfD appears particularly interested in data concerning police IT systems, counter-drone technologies, and the equipment of civil protection and healthcare services.

“It gives the impression that AfD is acting on the Kremlin’s orders in its inquiries,” Maier said.

Henrichmann supported the minister’s assessment, telling Handelsblatt that Russia “uses its influence in parliament, especially within AfD,” to obtain confidential information and conduct espionage. According to the Bundestag intelligence oversight committee chair, the Kremlin is interested in the German party solely as a tool of hybrid warfare. “AfD gratefully allows itself to be harnessed to Putin’s cart for this act of betrayal,” the lawmaker stated.

Von Notz also adds that AfD “harms Germany by deliberately becoming a mouthpiece for dictators and spreading their narratives in society and parliaments.” He noted that the heads of Germany’s intelligence agencies have long warned about Russia's use of extremist forces and “specific individuals” in pursuit of its interests.

The latest accusations were prompted by the planned trip to Moscow by Markus Frohnmaier, deputy head of AfD’s parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Martin Huber, secretary general of the Christian Social Union (CSU), urged AfD leadership to cancel the visit, warning that otherwise it could be regarded as treason. Frohnmaier responded that he “serves solely the interests of Germany.”

Interior Minister Maier emphasized that the issue goes beyond a single trip, warning that AfD poses “a threat to Germany’s security” because it rejects democratic principles and leans toward an authoritarian model. He said the party spreads disinformation, undermines trust in institutions, and cooperates with far-right organizations and “foreign enemies of democracy.”

AfD rejected the accusations, calling them absurd. Bernd Baumann, the party’s chief whip, said that the AfD’s inquiries merely sought to expose shortcomings “left behind by the SPD and CDU-CSU after decades of running the country.”

Links between AfD representatives and pro-Russian entities have repeatedly been the subject of investigations. Petr Bystron, a member of the European Parliament and former senior party official, is under investigation for allegedly receiving money from the operator of the pro-Russian website Voice of Europe. In 2023, AfD leader Tino Chrupalla attended a reception at the Russian Embassy in Berlin. In 2024, The Insider detailed how AfD aide Vladimir Sergienko cooperated with his FSB handlers to promote pro-Russian policy initiatives in Germany.

Maier added that “many AfD politicians maintain close contacts with authoritarian states,” thus placing sensitive information at risk. He noted the importance of this largely overlooked aspect in the context of a potential party ban: “AfD is unconstitutional not only because of its nationalist ideology, but also because it threatens our free democracy through its ties to authoritarian systems.”

AfD is a far-right populist party founded in 2013 that opposes migration, the “dictates of Brussels,” and the provision of Western aid to Ukraine. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified part of the party, including its youth wing, as extremist. In the Bundestag elections on Feb. 23, 2025, AfD came in second, winning nearly 21% of the vote; it now holds 152 seats in Germany’s 630-member parliament.

In early October, the party expelled Hamburg parliament member Robert Risch from its caucus after he attended a congress of far-right and neo-Nazi organizations in St. Petersburg organized by structures linked to Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. At the meeting, participants established the International Sovereigntist League “Paladins,” which includes far-right organizations from 14 countries. The Insider has detailed how Malofeev brought these groups together and how the congress became a platform for closer cooperation between Russian and European far-right movements.