New regulation
Hundreds of German civil servants have to leave Russia
Teachers at the German school in Moscow are also affected by the expulsion
© Christian Charisius / Picture Alliance
With a new regulation, Russia is introducing an upper limit for German civil servants. The result: Hundreds have to leave the country
Hundreds of German civil servants have to leave Russia. The Russian government has “introduced an upper limit for the number of staff in the German missions abroad and the German intermediary organizations,” according to the Foreign Office in Berlin on Saturday. This limit, which will apply from the beginning of June, “requires a major cut in all areas of our presence in Russia”. The Russian measure was criticized as “unilateral, unjustified and incomprehensible”.
According to information from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (“SZ”), German diplomats are affected to a certain extent, but above all cultural mediators such as teachers at the German school in Moscow and a significant number of employees of the Goethe Institute. Overall, there is talk of a low to mid three-digit number of people affected. The Federal Foreign Office did not provide any information on the number of people affected.
According to information from the German Foreign Office, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the decision in April to introduce an upper limit for German civil servants. This decision is “related to the reduction of the presence of Russian intelligence services in Germany,” it said.
Russia has already expelled 20 German diplomats
Also in April, Moscow announced the expulsion of more than 20 German diplomats. This has been described as retaliation for the “mass” expulsion of Russian embassy employees from Germany.
At the time, however, the Foreign Office in Berlin did not speak of the “expulsion” of Russian diplomats. At the end of April, however, the ministry said that Russian “embassy staff” had been on board a flight from Germany. Before that, there had been talks with the Russian side about a “reduction of the Russian intelligence service presence in Germany.”
Moscow is now accusing the federal government of having about twice as many civil servants in Russia as vice versa, the “SZ” reported on Saturday. According to the newspaper report, only about 350 employees of the German state will be allowed to work in Russia in the future. All attempts to dissuade the Foreign Ministry in Moscow from this decision have failed, quoted the “SZ” from German government circles.
Regarding a possible German reaction, the Foreign Office said: “With regard to the upper limit of the Russian presence in Germany, the federal government will ensure that there is a real balance in practice.”
Relationship deteriorated since Ukraine war began
Relations between Berlin and Moscow have deteriorated drastically as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Russian espionage activities in Germany have reached a level rarely seen in previous years. The German intelligence services repeatedly warn of this threat.
Regarding the “upper limit” for German state employees in Russia, which will apply from June, the Foreign Office in Berlin said that the next step would be to “ensure a minimum presence of mediators in Russia while maintaining the diplomatic presence at the same time”. This is only possible if “in all areas the number of employees is reduced, in some cases sharply”.
According to the information, local employees are also affected in addition to employees sent from Germany. These Russian employees of German institutions will lose their jobs as a result of the Russian measure.