Russian influence in Germany

Abstract

Chapter 7 discusses the little-researched issue of Russian influence in Germany. The country has long been the target of Russian ‘soft’ power operations and espionage but, since 2014, it has experienced the use of some new ‘harder’ instruments of influence, including disinformation and cyberattacks. For now, Russia appears content with its level of ‘soft’ power penetration. German discussion of the subject has paid little attention to Russian influence through well-established networks in the mainstream political parties as well as in business. Not surprisingly, the issue is extremely sensitive and Germany’s intelligence agencies do not openly discuss it. The left-wing party Die Linke, with its roots in the former GDR holds some positions on Russia close to those of the far right Alternative für Deutschland. Together, the two parties’ different ideological sympathies with Russia provide an important additional form of influence in Germany focused on the large Russian German community. For now, Russia has used disinformation tactics only sparingly. Cyberattacks on the government and the Parliament have shown Moscow’s capabilities in this area. However, its decision not to deploy stolen data in the 2017 federal election suggested that it viewed its existing level of influence as sufficient and did not see the need to interfere in the election process, as it had in France, the UK and the USA.