German-Russian Forum

The Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V. (German-Russian Forum) is a non-profit registered association headquartered in Berlin, founded in February 1993 with 59 members in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Its stated mission, expressed in the guiding principle "Strengthen the forces of peace | Promote dialogue," is to foster dialogue between German and Russian societies and to work for peaceful coexistence within a shared Europe. It describes bridge-building between the peoples of the two countries as a lasting task, irrespective of political antagonisms and deep conflicts. The Forum is a civil-society initiative rather than a government body. Its members and supporters are companies and personalities from all areas of public life, and membership is acquired through co-optation by the board. According to its own FAQ, the association was modelled on institutions such as the Atlantik-Brücke and the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft, which committed citizens founded after the Second World War to improve mutual relations. Prominent figures supported the founding initiative, including former ambassador to the Soviet Union Andreas Meyer-Landrut, Karl Kaiser of the German Council on Foreign Relations, former Ruhrgas AG chief executive Klaus Liesen, and manager and entrepreneur Eberhard von Koerber. The association quickly attracted numerous members from politics, business and academia, giving it a broad societal base that has largely endured. Its work focuses on school and youth exchanges, social and cultural exchange, town twinning and regional cooperation, and information and opinion exchange for civil-society initiatives. Among its recurring activities are the annual German-Russian town-twinning conferences, the Potsdamer Begegnungen (initiated in 1999 by former Federal President Roman Herzog), the hallo deutschland! alumni network for Russian graduates of German funding institutions (run with the German Embassy in Moscow and the DAAD), the Kulturportal Russland, and the school competition "Spielend Russisch lernen" (Learning Russian through Play). From 2001 it also took part in organizing the Petersburger Dialog, a bilateral discussion forum held alternately in Russia and Germany. The association runs several internet portals alongside its main site. The Forum awards the Dr.-Friedrich-Joseph-Haass-Preis annually since 1994 to people who have rendered outstanding services to German-Russian relations; the prize is named after the German physician Friedrich Joseph Haass, who worked in Russia in the mid-19th century. Recipients have included Mikhail Gorbachev (2007), Egon Bahr (2015), and Daniil Granin (2016). The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had a profound impact on the Forum's activities. Chairman Matthias Platzeck resigned on 1 March 2022; the Forum condemned the invasion and announced it was suspending all projects and events until the end of the military confrontation and a return to peaceful approaches, and the board (Kuratorium) was temporarily suspended. In November 2022 a new board was elected, with pastor Petra Schwermann taking over as chair. The association remains active, organizing commemorative events such as a concert marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and continuing its school competition and dialogue formats.

The Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V. was founded in February 1993 with 59 members, in the period immediately after the end of the Cold War, with the idea of creating a platform for exchange between Germans and Russians. Its founders took as models institutions such as the Atlantik-Brücke and the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft, which committed citizens had founded after the Second World War to improve mutual relations. The initiative was supported by prominent figures including former ambassador to the Soviet Union Andreas Meyer-Landrut, Karl Kaiser of the German Council on Foreign Relations, former Ruhrgas AG chief executive Klaus Liesen, and manager and entrepreneur Eberhard von Koerber. Alexandra Gräfin Lambsdorff was the founder and served as chair from 1993 to 2002. With its international-understanding approach, the association quickly gained numerous members from politics, business and academia, giving it a broad societal base. Membership is acquired through co-optation by the board. The association is supported in content and financially by members from politics, business, mass media and culture. It grew from 59 founding members to around 300 members as of 2023. Over the decades the Forum developed a range of recurring activities. It organizes internships for journalists, annual German-Russian town-twinning conferences, and school and youth exchanges. The Potsdamer Begegnungen, initiated in 1999 by former Federal President Roman Herzog, bring together actors from politics, business, culture and civil society. In cooperation with the German Embassy in Moscow and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Forum runs the hallo deutschland! alumni network for Russian graduates of German funding institutions. Since 2001 it has also participated in organizing the Petersburger Dialog, a bilateral discussion forum that has been held eighteen times, alternately in Russia and Germany. Other regular activities include the Kulturportal Russland and the German-Russian town-twinning conference, which held its sixteenth edition in Kaluga from 28 to 30 June 2021. The Forum operates four further internet portals alongside its main site: Kulturportal Russland, hallo deutschland!, Spielend Russisch lernen, and a portal on German-Russian town twinning. Since 1994 the association has awarded the Dr.-Friedrich-Joseph-Haass-Preis annually to persons who have rendered outstanding services to German-Russian relations. The prize is named after the German physician Friedrich Joseph Haass, who worked in Russia in the mid-19th century. Recipients have included Wolfgang Kartte (1994), Wjatscheslaw Daschitschew (1995), Thomas Roth (1996), Maja Turowskaja (1997), Sigmund Jähn (1998), Wladimir Wojnowitsch (1999), Otto Wolff von Amerongen (2000), Yuri Luzhkov (2001), Manfred Stolpe (2002), Jekaterina Genijewa (2003), Archbishop Georg Kretschmar (2004), Tamara Morschtschakowa (2005), Martin Friedrichs (2006), Mikhail Gorbachev (2007), Angelika Küpper and Anne Hofinga (2008), Alexei Mordashov (2009), Nikolaus Knauf (2010), Ella Pamfilova (2011), Reinhard Führer and Nikolai Ovcharov (2012), Alexandra Gräfin Lambsdorff (2013), Elena Nemirowskaja (2014), Egon Bahr (2015), Daniil Granin (2016), Fritz Pleitgen (2017), Mikhail Shvydkoy (2018), Graciela Bruch and Stefan Dürr (2019), and Mikhail Fedotov (2021). Leadership changed over time. Alexandra Gräfin Lambsdorff chaired the Forum from 1993 to 2002; Andreas Meyer-Landrut chaired from 2002 to 2003 and later became honorary chairman; Ernst-Jörg von Studnitz chaired from 2003 to 2014 and is also an honorary chairman; Matthias Platzeck chaired from 2014 to 2022. On 12 October 2021 a new Kuratorium (board of trustees) was elected, and Antje Vollmer, Lothar de Maizière and Gabriele Krone-Schmalz were appointed honorary trustees. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had a profound impact on the Forum's activities. Chairman Matthias Platzeck resigned on 1 March 2022. The Forum condemned the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine and declared that it was suspending all projects and events until the end of the military confrontation and a return to peaceful approaches; in this connection the Kuratorium was temporarily suspended in order to reconstitute the body. In November 2022 a new board was elected, and the pastor Petra Schwermann took over as chair. The Forum has continued to issue board statements, such as 'Erinnern und Brücken bauen' (Remembering and building bridges) in May 2025, and organized a commemorative concert for the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Its school competition Spielend Russisch lernen continues, with a 2026 federal cup final planned in Naumburg/Saale.

• 2026

  Bundescup 'Spielend Russisch lernen' final to be held in Naumburg/Saale

• 2025

  Board statement 'Erinnern und Brücken bauen' (May); commemorative concert for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II

• 2022

  Chairman Matthias Platzeck resigns on 1 March; projects suspended; new board elected in November with Petra Schwermann as chair

• 2021

  New Kuratorium elected on 12 October; 16th German-Russian town-twinning conference held in Kaluga, 28-30 June

• 2014

  Matthias Platzeck becomes chair (until 2022)

• 2003

  Ernst-Jörg von Studnitz becomes chair (until 2014)

• 2002

  Andreas Meyer-Landrut becomes chair (until 2003)

• 2001

  Forum begins participating in organizing the Petersburger Dialog

• 1999

  Potsdamer Begegnungen initiated by former Federal President Roman Herzog

• 1994

  First award of the Dr.-Friedrich-Joseph-Haass-Preis

• 1993

  Association founded in February with 59 members; Alexandra Gräfin Lambsdorff becomes chair

Non-profit civil-society association promoting German-Russian dialogue and people-to-people ties, independent of political antagonisms.

• Potsdamer Begegnungen

  Annual meeting of actors from politics, business, culture and civil society, initiated in 1999 by Roman Herzog.

• Spielend Russisch lernen

  School competition for learning Russian, with a federal cup (Bundescup) and final.

• hallo deutschland!

  Alumni network for Russian graduates of German funding institutions, run with the German Embassy in Moscow and the DAAD.

• Kulturportal Russland

  Online portal on Russian culture.

• German-Russian town-twinning conference

  Annual conference on municipal and regional partnerships; 16th edition in Kaluga in 2021.

• Dr.-Friedrich-Joseph-Haass-Preis

  Annual prize awarded since 1994 for services to German-Russian relations.

1. 1Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V. – official websitedeutsch-russisches-forum.de
2. 2Über uns – Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V.deutsch-russisches-forum.de
3. 3Häufig gestellte Fragen – Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V.deutsch-russisches-forum.de
4. 4Vorstand – Deutsch-Russisches Forum e.V.deutsch-russisches-forum.de
5. 5German-Russian Forum – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Deutsch-Russisches Forum – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org