Leaked photographs have emerged in the German press of the former chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has refused to denounce his friendship and business ties with Vladimir Putin, as the guest of honour at a reception hosted by the Russian embassy in Berlin.
Schröder and his wife, So-yeon Schröder-Kim, reportedly rubbed shoulders at the event on Tuesday with Egon Krenz, 86, the last Communist leader of East Germany (GDR). Krenz was forced to resign when the Berlin Wall fell, and was later sentenced to six and a half years in prison for his role in the crimes of the Communist regime, in particular the fatal shootings of people trying to escape the GDR.
Other guests included the leadership of the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland party (AfD) and high-ranking members of the far-left Die Linke. Guests were served champagne and caviar, according to reports.
Schröder, who was chancellor from 1998 to 2005, was a strong advocate for the Nord Stream gas pipeline during his time in office. He has since had roles in the companies Rosneft and Gazprom, which he has now officially renounced. After his resignation from the board of Rosneft over EU sanction concerns, he was spotted in Moscow a year ago by a German reporter, to whom he said: “I’m having a few days holiday in Moscow – it’s a beautiful city.”
Pictures of the Schröders and other guests at the embassy – at a reception to mark Victory Day, or the role of the Soviet Red Army in conquering Nazi Germany in 1945 – were leaked to the tabloid Bild.
The guests would have entered the embassy after passing a protest site against Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is a permanent presence outside the building. Protesters have renamed the space in front of the embassy Freedom Square.
Franz Josef Wagner, a veteran columnist for Bild, responded with an angry swipe at Schröder. “Our ex-chancellor eats caviar while Putin is slaughtering people, kidnapping children, letting women be raped. Every sensitive person can smell the sulphur in the embassy – the smell of death. Gerhard Schröder has lost his sense of smell,” he wrote.
Schröder-Kim confirmed to Der Spiegel magazine that the couple had attended the event and said she was “amazed” that this should be viewed with scorn.
Schröder has been isolated by his party, the Social Democrats, for his refusal to denounce Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and over his longstanding gas industry ties with Moscow. He recently failed in an attempt to overturn a ban on his use of taxpayer-funded Bundestag offices and staff amid scathing criticism for his links to Moscow. Attempts to throw him out of the SPD have so far failed.
Tino Chrupalla, the AfD leader, also confirmed his participation, together with Alexander Gauland, who previously held the same role. He told the news agency DPA that he had received an invitation to the reception “as I’m sure all parliamentary faction leaders did”.
Traditionally, he said, 9 May “was until recently a memorial day in which it was taken for granted that German politicians of all parties represented in the Bundestag would take part”. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should not change this, he said. “This dialogue should not be broken off in times of crisis.”
