Germany’s digital ministry has moved key offices next to Berlin’s Russian House, an institution that European authorities suspect has been used as cover for Russian intelligence activity.
The relocation, which started last month, has triggered security concerns inside the ministry, with some sensitive units remaining in Bonn rather than relocating to Berlin.
The Russian House of Science and Culture stands in central Berlin near the Russian embassy and has operated in the capital since 1984, officially to promote cultural exchange.
It is run by Rossotrudnichestvo, Russia’s state agency for relations with the post-Soviet region and Russians abroad, which has been on the EU sanctuon list since July 2022.
This month, French authorities assesed that the House is “used as a cover by Russian intelligence services”, cited in an expulsion order against Xenia Fedorova, the former head of the French office of Russian state-backed propaganda outlet RT.
According to France’s interior ministry, Fedorova intended to become director of the Russian House in Berlin.