On the 24th of September, there were reports that Russia brought so-called international observers to observe the sham referenda in the occupied Ukrainian territories – sham referenda which are carried out under the close guidance of armed men. In previous cases it has been noted that the usual foreign ‘guests’ to attend such events were either political freaks or outsider politicians. This time, even this group did not come. At first, local representatives from the regions of Saxony-Anhalt and North Rhein-Westphalia from the Kremlin-friendly AfD party, were planning to go to occupied parts of Ukraine to try and legitimize Russia’s actions. However, after a wave of criticism (including intra-party criticism), they canceled their travel plans. One such German ‘observer’ was later found to be the director of a utility company from the state of Hesse – Stefan Schaller. After receiving active criticism on social media as well as massive attention from Ukrainian and German media, the supervisory board decided to sack him. Schaller resented this decision quite a lot and was surprised by it: why? I only wanted to check if everything was alright.
However, his financially-influenced ‘naivety’ and background as a manager in an energy company leads us to an important question: to what extent is the German energy market infested with Russian corruption? Yes, it has been reported that in early August, there was an investigation targeting two high-ranking officials in the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs due to their apparent close ties to Russia. Meanwhile, two weeks ago, investigative journalists from the corrective.org portal published their extensive investigation on the “Gazprom Lobby” in German energy companies as well as state and private institutions. The aim was to use this lobby in order to bring the German government further into energy source dependency on Russia, and as we can see today, there was success in this regard. The reverse process of becoming more independent is now very costly for Germany.
Conferences, Concerts and ‘Friendship’ Festivals
In order to convince Germans that Russian gas is what they need most, the Kremlin and its German mouthpieces systematically created inconspicuous organizations that aimed to sway German politicians – ranging from SPD to the CDU/CSU parties. Thus, the idea that gas from the east is beneficial to Germany is pushed through. ‘This campaign really worked’ – according to correctiv.org.
In fact, the organizations in question here may seem to be there merely to support more integrated bilateral relations, however, their real purpose is to represent the corporate interests of Gazprom. From the outside, everything would seem innocent: festivals, concerts, exhibitions, ‘friendship’ events. In reality however, both old and newly appointed officials practically became lobbyists of the interests of a country that was hostile to their own. Recently published documents showing the meetings of the PM of the Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania province, Manuela Schwesig, confirm this. Without taking Gerhard Schröder into consideration, Schwesig is considered to be one of the most fearsome lobbyists of the Nord Stream 2 project.
Lobbyist networks that serve the Kremlin
Due to the extensive analysis provided by Correctiv.org, it became apparent how exactly Gazprom managed to push their lobbyists through in two states that were key to gas transmission – Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania. At the various venues organized to promote the bilateral cooperation of Germany and Russia, one could meet representatives of various organizations that all shared similar views on importing raw materials from Russia. This presence of the so-called organizations created an illusion that the issue was at the heart of many important people that shared a common goal. In reality though, the entire ordeal was a precise and calculated act, as the ‘activists’ at all of these events were reiterating the same thing over and over – that Germany must strengthen its ties with Russia and increase trade of raw materials.
The German editorial team also discovered that VNG, a German energy company, stood behind the various lobbyist organizations. Its representatives often delivered speeches during the events organized by the lobbyist unions. One of the VNG foundations had a prominent russophile working for them, a rather well-known member of the SdP, Matthias Platzeck. In fact, VNG is one of the biggest gas importers in Germany, but unlike other big importers like Uniper, it ‘propagates its own, direct dependence from Moscow’ – writes Correctiv.org. In early September, the company applied for a billion-euro aid due to its reported deficit of gas which it used to import from Russia. ‘Back from the time of East Germany, VNG received gas from Russia based on long-term contracts. Many eastern German municipalities own smaller portions of its connection with Russia is even more evident in the supervisory board of VNG: Matthias Arthur Warnig, general director of Nord Stream 2, a close and trusted ally of Putin, spent 5 years there’ – according to Correctiv.org. There is proof of further links to Gazprom – the company owns gas storage in Paysen. In 2019, the company signed a new contract with a Russian state company, hence VNG defends Russia’s interests as its own, through unorthodox means such as fictive events and conferences. Correctiv.org also mentions one of such events called the German-Russian Raw Materials Forum. Its co-founder is yet again, VNG. The event already took place 13 times. It was always attended by the former federal minister for economic affairs Sigmar Gabriel (SDP) and the prime minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer (CDU). The latter continues to call for the removal of sanctions on Russia. Correctiv.org further states that Kretschmer’s party profits from a Russia-backed energy company: ‘VNG sponsors CDU events, according to its own statements, averaging in the four-digit zone per year. The various fractions of CDU gather in VNG to hold such events’.
German journalists also point out that the pro-Russian lobbyist network did not restrict itself to politicians and corporations but also infiltrated NGOs. One such example was the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The foundation was started back in 2008 under the name ‘The Russo-German Forum of the Future’. This entity was yet again sponsored by VNG. The manager of this company, Bernhard Kaltefleiter, in 2012 stated that his company ‘substantially supported’ the creation of a joint master’s course of “International Energy Economics and Business Administration” between the University of Leipzig and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. The aim of the whole thing was to solidify the dialogue between Russia and Germany and the ‘creation of a platform for intellectual cooperation in the energy sector’ – stated Kaltefleiter. All in all, Russia methodically accumulated multi-level means of influence in Germany. What has come to the surface now is most likely just the tip of the iceberg.
