Culture or Kremlin influence? Europe divided over its Russian Houses

Relevance to the sub: Discussion over cultural boycotts and the blurry distinction between intercultural exchanges and state-sponsored influence operations between Russia and Europe

Among the retaliatory measures announced by Germany following the drone attack at Leipzig-Halle airport, attributed to Russia, figured the closure of the Russian House of Berlin, a prominent Russian cultural institution that had operated in the German capital since 1984, first founded as a Soviet cultural center.

According to French intelligence services, the Russian House in Berlin operated as a spy hub for Russian intelligence services to plan and launch various influence and direct action operations in Europe and Germany in particular, a country that has increasingly been targeted by acts of hybrid warfare, ranging from disinformation campaigns about the war in Ukraine, to arson attacks and assassination threats against German defense industrialists.

The Russian House is operated by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian government agency placed under the responsibilities of the Foreign Ministry, and officially aims to distribute foreign aid (as an equivalent of USAID) and promote Russian language and culture abroad, as a counterpart to the Confucius Institutes (China) or the Goethe network for Germany, whose Moscow branch was closed as a retaliation for the closure of the Russian House in Berlin. The agency and its local branches have been involved in direct operations in Africa, notably by providing logistical support to Wagner/Africa Corps combatants.

While Rossotrudnichestvo is sanctioned by EU countries, Russian cultural centers continue to operate within the Union, and have been called out by researchers on Russian diplomacy and foreign interferences as instruments of the Kremlin to broadcast propaganda to European audiences under a veneer of cultural promotion.