The German government has revealed that it will pay the property tax for the controversial “Russian House” on Berlin’s Friedrichstraße, according to a report by the news magazine Focus. The information was obtained through a response from the Foreign Office to a small question by Green Party MP Robin Wagener. When asked by the magazine, the Foreign Office stated that the property tax for the land on which the state-owned building is situated will be 70,000 euros in 2024.
Wagener, who is also the Greens’ Ost Europa spokesperson, expressed his disapproval of the move, stating that the building should be shut down and not funded by federal funds. He plans to push for the blocking of the funds in the upcoming budget negotiations, expecting the support of the coalition.
In a statement, Wagener criticized the government’s inaction, saying, “Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul cannot simply stand by and watch as Russia brands our German scientists as terrorists and at the same time finances the Russian House.” Many experts consider the building to be a propaganda institution and the state-owned Russian operator, Rossotrudnitschestwo, is on the EU’s sanctions list.
Despite this, it is unlikely that steps will be taken against the building. The Foreign Office’s response to Wagener stated that the German government, as the owner of the land, is the original property tax payer and is fulfilling its legal obligations under the 2013 bilateral agreement on property matters between Germany and Russia, which also covers the Goethe Institute in Moscow. The agreement emphasizes the importance of upholding agreements, as stated in the Latin phrase “Pacta sunt servanda”.