The German and the British public broadcasters ZDF and BBC as well as the German and Italian newspapers Spiegel and La Repubblica researched together.
Together they want to have uncovered a heavy campaign from abroad to gain influence in Germany.
However they did not pay attention to the actions of the Integrity Initiative and the Institute for Statecraft.
See:
[Dossier] Integrity Initiative
,
Integrity Initiative
Although the accusation that President Trump is being controlled by the Russian government can now be put into the realm of fairy tales and legends the press simply continue. And the myth of Russian influence has also spread to the Brexit referendum and the AfD in Germany. This time the AfD is accused of being controlled by the Russian government. [1]
Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) participated in the three-day "Yalta International Economic Forum" in Crimea from April 14, to 16, 2016. There he advocated for an end to EU sanctions against Russia. And on January 21, 2017 it was announced that travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses for the Hotel Mriya were covered by the Russian YIEF Foundation. Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) however clarified the facts of his trip after he was pressured to do so and six months later than prescribed. The Ambassador of Ukraine in Berlin Andriy Melnyk has submitted protest to the foreign office of Germany and demanded that all necessary steps should be taken to avoid such violation of Ukrainian laws in the future. [2] [2,archive] [3] [4] [5] [6]
One can confidently say that both have made themselves unpopular with their meetings with Russian politicians. And at least the handling of Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) with the travel costs was unprofessional.
In a second paper proposals for campaign support for Frohnmaier (AfD) and possible compensation are listed. In return Frohnmaier (AfD) would denounce the EU's interference in Russia's domestic affairs, engage in international politics after a successful election to the Bundestag, accompany delegations to the Crimea and the Donbas among other things and would be available to the Russian media for frequent appearances at any time. According to their own information Frohnmaier (AfD) has no knowledge about the documents and has never requested nor demanded financial or media support in circles of Russian politics, business or civilians. [7] [9] [10] [11]
Frohnmaier (AfD) is also accused of his contact with his former colleague Manuel Ochsenreiter. Ochsenreiter is accused of being responsible for an arson attack together with the Polish politician Mateusz Piskorski. On February 4, 2018 the facade of a Hungarian cultural center in Uzhgorod in western Ukraine was set on fire. Ochsenreiter had been employed since September 2018 in the Bundestag office of Frohnmaier (AfD) as a research assistant. After the allegations against Ochsenreiter became known Ochsenreiter was dismissed in January 2019 by Frohnmaier (AfD). [7] [12] [13]
The allegations against Frohnmaier (AfD) sound difficult at first glance. For a sovereign state it would be unacceptable for politicians to be under external control. However it is never said at any point that official or unofficial posts fulfilled Frohnmaier (AfD) any of the alleged demands. Questionable is also the assertion of the ZDF that Premyak would have admitted with switched off camera to be the sender of the e-mail. However the story is overshadowed by a picture in which the e-mail addresses of both are visible. Premyak and Sokolov have allegedly used free e-mail addresses from Yandex for government-owned correspondence. Yandex is a private company for free email addresses such as Gmail or Yahoo. [7,0m10s]
And the responsibility of Frohnmaier (AfD) for acts of Ochsenreiter are until now only guilt by association. Ochsenreiter may be unsympathetic. But if Frohnmaier (AfD) is allowed his presumption of innocence, then he acted correctly when he dismissed Ochsenreiter.
Khodorkovsky also founded the Open Russia Foundation in London in 2001. According to their own statements the openness and integration of people in Russia and the world should be promoted. But the actions of the Open Russia Foundation were banned in 2006 by the Russian state for violating the law on foreign financing. [17] [18] [19]
After that Khodorkovsky founded the Dossier Center. He himself is now about his desire to achieve a change of power in Russia. And the Dossier Center was founded with the goal of circulating information that harms the Putin administration and its environment. [20] [21] [22] [23]
If one wants to criticize the AfD then one should rather criticize their positions. The party leadership is against a withdrawal of Germany from NATO although the majority of the party base is for it. [26] And the approval rating in the population for a membership dropped from 68% in 2017 to 54% in 2019. [27] [28] One could also accuse the AfD of not wanting to keep its promises. The AfD initially refuses to withdraw from the EU as well as the euro and according to official statements wants to reforn both. [29] [30]
[1] Moskaus Marionetten - AUSGABE 15/2019 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel//index-14813.html
[2] Kreml sucht die Nähe zur AfD 2016-10-04 https://www.zdf.de/politik/frontal-21/putins-geheimes-netzwerk-kreml-sucht-naehe-zur-afd-100.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20170104101541/https://www.zdf.de/politik/frontal-21/putins-geheimes-netzwerk-kreml-sucht-naehe-zur-afd-100.html
[3] Luxustrip - Russische Stiftung bezahlte Krimreise von AfD-Politiker Pretzell 2017-01-21 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/marcus-pretzell-russische-stiftung-bezahlte-krimreise-des-afd-politikers-a-1130921.html
[4] Erklärung über die Teilnahme eines Mitgliedes an von Dritten organisierten Veranstaltungen auf Einladung 2016-11-21 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-dat/124830_13-04-2016.pdf
[5] Rechtspopulisten - AfD-Jugend und Putin-Jugend verbünden sich 2016-04-23 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-jugend-und-putin-jugend-verbuenden-sich-a-1088721.html
[6] KARRIERE BEI DEN RECHTSPOPULISTEN - Die junge AfD schielt Richtung Putin 2016-04-28 https://app.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/karriere-bei-den-rechtspopulisten-die-junge-afd-schielt-richtung-putin/13516760.html?mwl=ok
[7] AfD-Politiker "absolut unter Kontrolle" - Der Fall Frohnmaier: Moskaus Strategie für politischen Einfluss 2019-04-05 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/afd-und-russland-104.html
[8] Moskaus Strategie für politischen Einfluss - AfD-Politiker Frohnmaier "absolut unter Kontrolle" 2019-04-05 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/moskaus-strategie-fuer-politischen-einfluss-afd-politiker-frohnmaier-absolut-unter-kontrolle-100.html
[9] Einflussnahme aus Moskau - Russen setzten auf AfD-Abgeordneten Frohnmaier 2019-04-05 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/markus-frohnmaier-russen-setzten-auf-afd-abgeordneten-a-1261422.html
[10] German far-right MP 'could be absolutely controlled by Russia' 2019-04-05 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47822835
[11] Has Russia infiltrated the German Parliament? - BBC Newsnight 2019-04-04 https://youtu.be/6IftmHLGM8w
[12] Brandschlag in Ukraine - Prozessakten erhärten Verdacht gegen Ex-AfD-Mitarbeiter Ochsenreiter 2019-01-31 https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/id_85169666/brandanschlag-verdacht-gegen-ex-afd-mitarbeiter-ochsenreiter-erhaertet-sich.html
[13] Engagement auf der Krim - AfD-Abgeordneter in Gremium mit russischem Geheimdienst 2019-03-31 https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/parteien/id_85474992/afd-politiker-markus-frohnmaier-in-gremium-auf-der-krim.html
[14] Der Zar des schwarzen Goldes 2002-07-08 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-23061458.html
[15] Chodorkowski scheitert in Straßburg 2011-06-01 https://www.abendblatt.de/politik/ausland/article108014194/Chodorkowski-scheitert-in-Strassburg.html
[16] Yukos-Prozess - Europäischer Gerichtshof gibt Russland Recht 2011-10-20 https://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/yukos-prozess-europaeischer-gerichtshof-gibt-russland-recht-3924800.html
[17] Russia Effectively Closes a Political Opponent's Rights Group 2006-03-18 https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/18/world/europe/russia-effectively-closes-a-political-opponents-rights-group.html
[18] Vision For Russia 2014-01-13 https://www.khodorkovsky.com/vision-for-russia/
[19] Open Russia Is Launching Its Open Elections Project 2015-06-04 https://www.khodorkovsky.com/open-russia-is-launching-its-open-elections-project/
[20] Mikhail Khodorkovsky breaks political silence, saying he would lead Russia 2014-09-21 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/mikhail-khodorkovsky-breaks-political-silence-prepared-lead-russia
[21] «Putin hat sich selber in eine Sackgasse gebracht» 2014-12-05 http://www.nzz.ch/international/putin-hat-sich-selber-in-eine-sackgasse-gebracht-1.18438893
[22] Russian secret-spilling site ‘Dossier’ steps into spotlight 2018-07-31 https://apnews.com/04151c1579724d46a2bda546cb37368d
[23] Dossier Center https://dossier.center/
[24] AfD-Abgeordnete in Washington unterwegs 2018-06-16
https://www.fr.de/politik/afd-abgeordnete-washington-unterwegs-10983808.html
[25] NEWS - Steve Bannon meets AfD's Alice Weidel during European far-right roadshow 2018-03-07
https://www.dw.com/en/steve-bannon-meets-afds-alice-weidel-during-european-far-right-roadshow/a-42873730
[26] AFD-STELLVERTRETER GAULAND : Nato ist „Instrument amerikanischer Geopolitik“ 2016-05-10
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/afd-vize-alexander-gauland-haelt-nato-austritt-fuer-irrweg-14224338.html
[27] NATO-Bündnis hat in EU-Staaten an Rückhalt verloren – jedoch nicht in den USA 2019-04-04
https://yougov.de/news/2019/04/04/nato-bundnis-hat-eu-staaten-ruckhalt-verloren-je/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=DE_2019_04_Artikel_NATO_kollektive_Verteidigung
[28] NATO-TREFFEN - Mehrheit der Deutschen hält höhere Verteidigungsausgaben für falsch 2019-04-04
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/nato-treffen-mehrheit-der-deutschen-haelt-hoehere-verteidigungsausgaben-fuer-falsch/24182186.html
[29] Far-right AfD to campaign on German EU exit 2019-01-13
https://www.thelocal.de/20190113/far-right-afd-to-campaign-on-german-eu-exit
[30] NEWS - AfD demands radical EU reforms to avoid Germany's 'Dexit' 2019-01-13
https://www.dw.com/en/afd-demands-radical-eu-reforms-to-avoid-germanys-dexit/a-47066983
Although the accusation that President Trump is being controlled by the Russian government can now be put into the realm of fairy tales and legends the press simply continue. And the myth of Russian influence has also spread to the Brexit referendum and the AfD in Germany. This time the AfD is accused of being controlled by the Russian government. [1]
The old Accusations
In October 2016 the German public broadcaster ZDF reported that the then Member of the European Parliament Markus Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) traveled to the economic forum in Yalta at the invitation of the internationally unrecognized government of Crimea. It was also reported that the then spokesman for the youth organization "Junge Alternative" (Young Alternativ) Markus Frohnmaier (AfD) met in the east of Ukraine with the chairman of the Russian youth organization "United Youth Front" (OMF) Nikolay Schljamin. The German public broadcaster ZDF then speculated in October 2016 that the Russian government is disproportionately influencing the AfD because Frohnmaier (AfD) and Schljamin (OMF) are in agreement on European and family policy. [2] [2,archive]Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) participated in the three-day "Yalta International Economic Forum" in Crimea from April 14, to 16, 2016. There he advocated for an end to EU sanctions against Russia. And on January 21, 2017 it was announced that travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses for the Hotel Mriya were covered by the Russian YIEF Foundation. Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) however clarified the facts of his trip after he was pressured to do so and six months later than prescribed. The Ambassador of Ukraine in Berlin Andriy Melnyk has submitted protest to the foreign office of Germany and demanded that all necessary steps should be taken to avoid such violation of Ukrainian laws in the future. [2] [2,archive] [3] [4] [5] [6]
One can confidently say that both have made themselves unpopular with their meetings with Russian politicians. And at least the handling of Pretzell (then AfD today Die Blauen) with the travel costs was unprofessional.
The new Accusations
In April 2019 the German and British public broadcasters ZDF and BBC as well as the German and Italian newspapers Spiegel and La Repubblica reported on the new allegations of Russian interference in the 2017 Bundestag election. The joint searches are based on material and research provided by the Dossier Center. Hereafter Frohnmaier (AfD) is described in a first paper a strategy paper by Petr Premyak from the Russian presidential administration to Sergei Sokolov from April 3, 2017 thus before the 2017 general elections. According to the ZDF Premyak has admitted to be the sender of the mail with the cameras being off. It says that Frohnmaier (AfD) if he would sit in the Bundestag, what he has been doing since the 2017 general election, would be under absolute control in the Bundestag. [7] [8] [9]In a second paper proposals for campaign support for Frohnmaier (AfD) and possible compensation are listed. In return Frohnmaier (AfD) would denounce the EU's interference in Russia's domestic affairs, engage in international politics after a successful election to the Bundestag, accompany delegations to the Crimea and the Donbas among other things and would be available to the Russian media for frequent appearances at any time. According to their own information Frohnmaier (AfD) has no knowledge about the documents and has never requested nor demanded financial or media support in circles of Russian politics, business or civilians. [7] [9] [10] [11]
Frohnmaier (AfD) is also accused of his contact with his former colleague Manuel Ochsenreiter. Ochsenreiter is accused of being responsible for an arson attack together with the Polish politician Mateusz Piskorski. On February 4, 2018 the facade of a Hungarian cultural center in Uzhgorod in western Ukraine was set on fire. Ochsenreiter had been employed since September 2018 in the Bundestag office of Frohnmaier (AfD) as a research assistant. After the allegations against Ochsenreiter became known Ochsenreiter was dismissed in January 2019 by Frohnmaier (AfD). [7] [12] [13]
The allegations against Frohnmaier (AfD) sound difficult at first glance. For a sovereign state it would be unacceptable for politicians to be under external control. However it is never said at any point that official or unofficial posts fulfilled Frohnmaier (AfD) any of the alleged demands. Questionable is also the assertion of the ZDF that Premyak would have admitted with switched off camera to be the sender of the e-mail. However the story is overshadowed by a picture in which the e-mail addresses of both are visible. Premyak and Sokolov have allegedly used free e-mail addresses from Yandex for government-owned correspondence. Yandex is a private company for free email addresses such as Gmail or Yahoo. [7,0m10s]
And the responsibility of Frohnmaier (AfD) for acts of Ochsenreiter are until now only guilt by association. Ochsenreiter may be unsympathetic. But if Frohnmaier (AfD) is allowed his presumption of innocence, then he acted correctly when he dismissed Ochsenreiter.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
The reporting is also suspicious of fulfilling a different purpose but at least of being involved in a conflict of interest. ZDF, BBC and Spiegel rely in their research on material and research provided by the Dossier Center in London. And the Dossier Center was founded and funded by Russian oligarch and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. And Khodorkovsky is a former Russian oligarch, major shareholder of the Russian oil company Yukos and convicted tax evader. The Russian oil company Yukos was convicted in 2004 by a Russian court for tax fraud to a payment of 2.85 billion euros and in the process the penalty rose to almost 20 billion euros, which Yukos had to pay in taxes and interest and fines. In 2011 at the urging of Khodorkovsky the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that the trial of Khodorkovsky was not politically motivated and that Khodorkovsky was in fact guilty of tax evasion. Only because of the conditions of detention the European court had ruled in favor of Khodorkovsky that the Russian state had to pay about 25,000 euros in compensation and the legal costs. [14] [15] [16]Khodorkovsky also founded the Open Russia Foundation in London in 2001. According to their own statements the openness and integration of people in Russia and the world should be promoted. But the actions of the Open Russia Foundation were banned in 2006 by the Russian state for violating the law on foreign financing. [17] [18] [19]
After that Khodorkovsky founded the Dossier Center. He himself is now about his desire to achieve a change of power in Russia. And the Dossier Center was founded with the goal of circulating information that harms the Putin administration and its environment. [20] [21] [22] [23]
Conclusion
Such a campaign that lacks any facts and is lacking evidence is probably not accidental. Strange is that a meeting with Russian politicians is criticized several times while a meeting of the AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel with Steven Bannon the former Advisor Trump was hardly mentioned. It is obvious that the elections to the European Parliament or the state elections in Bremen, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in 2019 play a role. See: [Domestic Policy] The political castling in Germany in 2019 [24] [25]If one wants to criticize the AfD then one should rather criticize their positions. The party leadership is against a withdrawal of Germany from NATO although the majority of the party base is for it. [26] And the approval rating in the population for a membership dropped from 68% in 2017 to 54% in 2019. [27] [28] One could also accuse the AfD of not wanting to keep its promises. The AfD initially refuses to withdraw from the EU as well as the euro and according to official statements wants to reforn both. [29] [30]
[1] Moskaus Marionetten - AUSGABE 15/2019 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel//index-14813.html
[2] Kreml sucht die Nähe zur AfD 2016-10-04 https://www.zdf.de/politik/frontal-21/putins-geheimes-netzwerk-kreml-sucht-naehe-zur-afd-100.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20170104101541/https://www.zdf.de/politik/frontal-21/putins-geheimes-netzwerk-kreml-sucht-naehe-zur-afd-100.html
[3] Luxustrip - Russische Stiftung bezahlte Krimreise von AfD-Politiker Pretzell 2017-01-21 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/marcus-pretzell-russische-stiftung-bezahlte-krimreise-des-afd-politikers-a-1130921.html
[4] Erklärung über die Teilnahme eines Mitgliedes an von Dritten organisierten Veranstaltungen auf Einladung 2016-11-21 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-dat/124830_13-04-2016.pdf
[5] Rechtspopulisten - AfD-Jugend und Putin-Jugend verbünden sich 2016-04-23 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-jugend-und-putin-jugend-verbuenden-sich-a-1088721.html
[6] KARRIERE BEI DEN RECHTSPOPULISTEN - Die junge AfD schielt Richtung Putin 2016-04-28 https://app.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/karriere-bei-den-rechtspopulisten-die-junge-afd-schielt-richtung-putin/13516760.html?mwl=ok
[7] AfD-Politiker "absolut unter Kontrolle" - Der Fall Frohnmaier: Moskaus Strategie für politischen Einfluss 2019-04-05 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/afd-und-russland-104.html
[8] Moskaus Strategie für politischen Einfluss - AfD-Politiker Frohnmaier "absolut unter Kontrolle" 2019-04-05 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/moskaus-strategie-fuer-politischen-einfluss-afd-politiker-frohnmaier-absolut-unter-kontrolle-100.html
[9] Einflussnahme aus Moskau - Russen setzten auf AfD-Abgeordneten Frohnmaier 2019-04-05 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/markus-frohnmaier-russen-setzten-auf-afd-abgeordneten-a-1261422.html
[10] German far-right MP 'could be absolutely controlled by Russia' 2019-04-05 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47822835
[11] Has Russia infiltrated the German Parliament? - BBC Newsnight 2019-04-04 https://youtu.be/6IftmHLGM8w
[12] Brandschlag in Ukraine - Prozessakten erhärten Verdacht gegen Ex-AfD-Mitarbeiter Ochsenreiter 2019-01-31 https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/id_85169666/brandanschlag-verdacht-gegen-ex-afd-mitarbeiter-ochsenreiter-erhaertet-sich.html
[13] Engagement auf der Krim - AfD-Abgeordneter in Gremium mit russischem Geheimdienst 2019-03-31 https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/parteien/id_85474992/afd-politiker-markus-frohnmaier-in-gremium-auf-der-krim.html
[14] Der Zar des schwarzen Goldes 2002-07-08 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-23061458.html
[15] Chodorkowski scheitert in Straßburg 2011-06-01 https://www.abendblatt.de/politik/ausland/article108014194/Chodorkowski-scheitert-in-Strassburg.html
[16] Yukos-Prozess - Europäischer Gerichtshof gibt Russland Recht 2011-10-20 https://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/yukos-prozess-europaeischer-gerichtshof-gibt-russland-recht-3924800.html
[17] Russia Effectively Closes a Political Opponent's Rights Group 2006-03-18 https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/18/world/europe/russia-effectively-closes-a-political-opponents-rights-group.html
[18] Vision For Russia 2014-01-13 https://www.khodorkovsky.com/vision-for-russia/
[19] Open Russia Is Launching Its Open Elections Project 2015-06-04 https://www.khodorkovsky.com/open-russia-is-launching-its-open-elections-project/
[20] Mikhail Khodorkovsky breaks political silence, saying he would lead Russia 2014-09-21 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/mikhail-khodorkovsky-breaks-political-silence-prepared-lead-russia
[21] «Putin hat sich selber in eine Sackgasse gebracht» 2014-12-05 http://www.nzz.ch/international/putin-hat-sich-selber-in-eine-sackgasse-gebracht-1.18438893
[22] Russian secret-spilling site ‘Dossier’ steps into spotlight 2018-07-31 https://apnews.com/04151c1579724d46a2bda546cb37368d
[23] Dossier Center https://dossier.center/
[24] AfD-Abgeordnete in Washington unterwegs 2018-06-16
https://www.fr.de/politik/afd-abgeordnete-washington-unterwegs-10983808.html
[25] NEWS - Steve Bannon meets AfD's Alice Weidel during European far-right roadshow 2018-03-07
https://www.dw.com/en/steve-bannon-meets-afds-alice-weidel-during-european-far-right-roadshow/a-42873730
[26] AFD-STELLVERTRETER GAULAND : Nato ist „Instrument amerikanischer Geopolitik“ 2016-05-10
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/afd-vize-alexander-gauland-haelt-nato-austritt-fuer-irrweg-14224338.html
[27] NATO-Bündnis hat in EU-Staaten an Rückhalt verloren – jedoch nicht in den USA 2019-04-04
https://yougov.de/news/2019/04/04/nato-bundnis-hat-eu-staaten-ruckhalt-verloren-je/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=DE_2019_04_Artikel_NATO_kollektive_Verteidigung
[28] NATO-TREFFEN - Mehrheit der Deutschen hält höhere Verteidigungsausgaben für falsch 2019-04-04
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/nato-treffen-mehrheit-der-deutschen-haelt-hoehere-verteidigungsausgaben-fuer-falsch/24182186.html
[29] Far-right AfD to campaign on German EU exit 2019-01-13
https://www.thelocal.de/20190113/far-right-afd-to-campaign-on-german-eu-exit
[30] NEWS - AfD demands radical EU reforms to avoid Germany's 'Dexit' 2019-01-13
https://www.dw.com/en/afd-demands-radical-eu-reforms-to-avoid-germanys-dexit/a-47066983
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