Moscow also gave Goethe-Institut cultural centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg until Sunday, Sept. 13, to shut, days after Berlin closed Russia's Bonn consulate and the Russia House center.
The order. Russia ordered on Monday, Sept. 7, that Germany's consulate general in St. Petersburg close by Friday, Sept. 18, and told the German government's Goethe-Institut cultural centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg to shut by Sunday, Sept. 13.
The trigger. It answers what Berlin did on Wednesday, Sept. 2, when Germany closed Russia's consulate in Bonn and the Russia House cultural center in Berlin. Both moves trace to Tuesday, Aug. 4, when an explosive-laden drone hit a parked cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Germany blamed Russian state entities; Moscow denies any part in it. ([TS]Germany's Interior Minister said Sept. 1 that DNA and intelligence tie the operators to Russian state entities.)
What is left. St. Petersburg was Germany's last consulate general in Russia, and Bonn was Russia's last in Germany. After Sept. 18 each country has exactly one mission left in the other: an embassy in the capital.
"It was the German authorities who once again provoked a new round of escalation in bilateral relations. All responsibility for the consequences lies entirely with the German government."Russian Foreign Ministry statement
What next. German officials have not said how many staff leave St. Petersburg, and no NATO or EU statement has addressed the closures themselves.
What losing every consulate does to ordinary travelers
- Worth knowingThe Bonn consulate is closed, so appointments booked there or mail sent to it will not be honored; only the Berlin embassy handles these services now.
- Worth knowingTravelers in St. Petersburg or elsewhere in Russia cannot rely on a nearby consulate after Sept. 18; all emergency consular help must come from the Moscow embassy.
- Roughly 60 Russian diplomats, including Consul General Oleg Krasnitsky, were ordered out of Bonn; counts including families run to about 70.