Moscow closes the three Goethe-Institut branches, Berlin protests: retaliation moves through culture

This morning the newspaper reported on the decisions taken by Berlin after the explosive drone found at Leipzig/Halle airport was attributed to Moscow, including the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn. In the afternoon the countermove arrived, and it concerns a different terrain from diplomacy in the strict sense: culture.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized the Russian decision to close all three Goethe-Institut branches present in the country, Tagesschau reports. The same broadcaster specifies that since 2023 the activity of the three branches had already been severely limited: the closure thus formalizes a situation that had in fact been largely frozen for three years.

According to Deutschlandfunk, Moscow presents the measure as a response to the planned closure of the Russian House in Berlin.

A declared symmetry

The construction of the retaliation follows a recognizable pattern: each German measure is matched by a Russian measure against a comparable institution. Berlin closes the Russian House in the capital and the Bonn consulate; Moscow closes the German cultural institutes on its own territory. Neither side presents its measure as autonomous: both describe it as a reaction.

The difference lies in the practical effect. A consulate performs administrative functions — documents, assistance to citizens, visas — that have immediate consequences for those who use them. A cultural institute whose activities had already been reduced to a minimum since 2023 produces, upon closure, an effect that is more symbolic than operational. It is a retaliation that costs little to the one enforcing it and communicates a great deal.

Redazione Zero does not go into the criminal side of the Leipzig/Halle affair: investigations are ongoing and this newspaper does not cover judicial matters. The scope here is that of the decisions taken by the governments.

The European framework

On the collective level, the European Union and NATO have promised a unified response to the drone attacks against the German airport, according to TorreSette’s international press review. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, called for increasing pressure on Russia. Vladimir Putin rejected the German accusations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated the need to remain united in the face of intimidation.

The next institutional step has a date: on September 16 von der Leyen will deliver her annual State of the Union address, as indicated by the European Commission’s communication. This is the venue where, by custom, the EU executive lays out the lines of the legislative year: any new package of measures against Moscow would find its political announcement there, before the formal proposals even reach the table of the twenty-seven.

What we don’t know

We do not know the actual date of closure of the three Goethe-Institut branches, nor the manner in which Russia intends to proceed. We do not know whether Berlin intends to respond with further measures, nor whether the Russian reaction will stop at the cultural level. Regarding the European framework, the statements by von der Leyen and Rutte are not currently accompanied by a list of concrete measures: the call to increase pressure remains a political direction, not an act.