Goethe-Institut to close all Russian branches: Cultural institutions become government bargaining chips, while learners and teachers pay the price

Deutsche Welle reports that Russia’s Foreign Ministry has ordered the Goethe-Institut to shut its three branches in Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk by Sunday, September 13, 2026. It is one of the most serious rounds of government friction in recent Russian-German relations.

The immediate trigger was Berlin’s response to an attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport in early August. German authorities attributed the incident to Moscow in early September and then announced sanctions: closing the Russian House cultural and education centre in Berlin, shutting Russia’s consulate general in Bonn, and tightening visa restrictions on Russian citizens. Russia’s Foreign Ministry responded by closing the Goethe-Institut.

Although a 2011 Russian-German intergovernmental agreement provides for the operation of each side’s cultural institutions on a reciprocal basis, it does not say that one country must automatically close an equivalent institution when the other does so. In other words, closing the Goethe-Institut in Russia is a political decision, not a legal requirement.

Those most directly caught by that decision are ordinary people with no influence over government policy. Citing Goethe-Institut figures, Deutsche Welle says about 10,000 people learned German through the institute’s Russian programmes and partners in 2025, down from roughly 16,000 before 2023. That year the institute also organised about 22,000 examinations, while its libraries recorded 6,700 visits.

Several readers described their difficulties to Deutsche Welle. One reader who had left Russia as a so-called “late returnee” said his or her parents had planned to take an examination at the Goethe-Institut this autumn or winter and then submit documents to settle in Germany. They must now travel to a third country to sit the exam, bringing “additional expense and pressure”. Another reader said their child attends a German-language school: “It is now impossible to take the exam in Russia; we have to go to another country.”

German teachers are facing an equally profound shock. A teacher in the Moscow region wrote that the school had worked with the Goethe-Institut for more than 15 years: “This partnership is one of the most important pillars of our work. The institute gives us high-quality teaching materials and modern books that keep our lessons connected to reality.” Another teacher said bluntly: “I teach German in Russia, and I can’t find work anymore.” A third said: “I’m a German teacher, and professionally I feel stranded and abandoned.”

Gitte Zschoch, the Goethe-Institut’s secretary-general, said in a statement: “All employees must stop working in Russia by September 13, 2026. Our libraries will no longer lend books, and we will no longer provide training. German teachers are losing an important source of professional development and support. For people in Russia, this further limits their access to German, German culture and reliable information from Germany.” Gesche Joost, the institute’s president, called it “the end of an era” in Russian-German cultural relations.

Russian authorities have designated Deutsche Welle an “undesirable organisation”, and cooperation with the broadcaster is a criminal offence. The readers quoted above spoke anonymously, describing their circumstances while accepting legal risks. This means the responses collected by Deutsche Welle are neither a representative survey, nor accounts from people unaffected by the information environment that has itself silenced them.

Readers were divided. One wrote: “We hope cultural ties between the Russian Federation and Germany will not be destroyed. Sadly, culture has become hostage to political decisions. Closing the Goethe-Institut will affect ordinary people who cannot influence politicians.” Another blamed Berlin: “By closing the Russian House, the German authorities buried cultural cooperation with Russia. The responsibility lies entirely with Germany.” A third considered Moscow’s response logical: “Closing the branches looks like a reasonable response to Germany’s closure of the Russian House. Cultural and humanitarian ties are becoming political bargaining chips.”

Another reader posed a more structural question: “Why can the people who decide to isolate Russia from Europe allow their own children and close relatives to receive a European education and live a European-style life at the same time?” The question directs the cost of intergovernmental escalation toward the gap between decision-makers and ordinary people.

This article does not present the Russian side’s position or response concerning the attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport, and Germany’s attribution remains a unilateral claim. It is currently unclear whether the Goethe-Institut’s examinations and courses will continue in Russia through partners or online; nor is there data on how many of the roughly 22,000 annual candidates could or would travel to a third country for an examination.

The Goethe-Institut has 154 branches in 100 countries worldwide, and the three Russian branches are only part of that network. After September 13, the 10,000 learners, 22,000 examinations and 6,700 library visits recorded in 2025 will drop to zero.