Putin’s henchman Schroeder celebrated Victory Day at the Russian Embassy in Berlin – media
The reception at the Russian embassy was also attended by one of the leaders of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party and a number of other German politicians.
Gerhard Schroeder, a former German chancellor and big fan of Putin’s murderous Russian regime, along with a number of other German politicians, attended a May 9 reception at the Russian embassy in Berlin on the occasion of Victory Day.
This is written by the German publications Bild and Berliner Zeitung. In particular, Tino Khrupalla, leader of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was visiting the Russian embassy.
“And together they have shown without hesitation which side of the war in Ukraine they are on: the side of the Kremlin dictator and military tyrant Vladimir Putin. The barbaric war of aggression is ignored – the massacre of civilians, the rape of women, the kidnapping of children,” writes Bild.
It is noted that Khrupalla brought and handed over to Putin’s ambassador Sergei Nechaev some gift in blue wrapping paper, which was captured by the Berliner Zeitung photographer. The AfD leader chose for this occasion a tie in the national colors of Russia: white, blue and red.
Schroeder’s wife, Kim So-yeon, honorary head of the AfD Alexander Gauland, Left Party spokesman Klaus Ernst and former SED general secretary Egon Krenz were also on the guest list, according to German media reports.
“Schroeder, the bosses of the AfD and Egon Krenz, who was in prison for ordering to shoot at the fugitives from the GDR Wall – what a mixture of guests!” Bild notes.
The reception was also attended by diplomatic representatives from the CIS countries, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, as well as a representative from China. Western ambassadors did not attend the reception in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In a short speech at the reception, Nechaev recalled that the German “death machine” claimed the lives of 27 million Soviet citizens. He also expressed his gratitude to other “allies” and all the resistance members who fought “on the side of the Soviet Union” against the National Socialists.
The Russian ambassador criticized the ban on the use of Russian flags in Berlin to commemorate the victory over fascism and said that “there should be no revival of Nazism”, even in the form of a new “Russophobia”.
Bild also recalls that in recent months, representatives of the AfD and the Left Party have been cooperating on issues related to Russia. The American newspaper The Washington Post published intelligence data about the Kremlin’s plans to organize a coup in Germany with the help of one of the leaders of the “left” Sarah Wagenknecht and the right-wing AfD.
Greens spokesperson Rebecca Harms called Khrupalla, Ernst and Schroeder “Putin’s German henchmen in Russia’s war of extermination against Ukraine.”
In a commentary to the Berliner Zeitung, Klaus Ernst said that he came “despite the difficult situation due to the war” because “Russia played a decisive role in the defeat of fascism.” Without Russia’s victory, his life allegedly would have turned out differently, “so today is an important day.”
Khrupalla tweeted that he went to the reception “not to thank for the release” but “to explain the German view of history and modernity.”
Schroeder’s promotion of the interests of Putin’s Russia in Germany
Recall that after leaving the post of German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder worked in Russia for many years, leading the board of directors of Rosneft since 2007. In May 2022, he announced “the impossibility of extending his powers on the company’s board of directors.” Schroeder also turned down an offer to join the supervisory board of another Russian energy giant, Gazprom.
But initially he refused to leave his “money” place in Rosneft, which is why he ran into criticism. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized Gerhard Schroeder for close business ties with Russia. And the deputies of the European Parliament suggested adding Schroeder to the EU sanctions list if he does not refuse Russian money. However, Scholz rejected the European Parliament’s call to impose sanctions on Schroeder. He noted that the German parliament’s decision to deprive the former chancellor of his taxpayer-paid office space in Berlin was “consistent and correct.”
Nevertheless, Schroeder continued to push the interests of the Russian Federation in Germany. For example, in the summer, after a trip to Moscow, he called on the German government to solve the gas deficit by launching the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. In response, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the process of certification and launch of Nord Stream 2 was stopped “for obvious reasons.”
Schroeder also does not consider it necessary to refuse the opportunity to communicate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite the invasion of Ukraine, and advocates a diplomatic settlement.