According to confidential documents obtained by the authors of a newly published book in Germany on Nord Stream, Berlin’s longstanding relations with the Kremlin yielded enormous financial benefits for Russia. Since 2014, Moscow is reported to have received at least €104 billion for its criminal activities.
Steffen Dobbert and Ulrich Thiel, in their recent book “Nord Stream: How Germany Paid for Putin’s War,” provide a detailed analysis of these documents. The authors accessed tens of thousands of classified materials and conducted over one hundred interviews with individuals knowledgeable about internal decision-making processes. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel declined to meet with the authors.
A central figure in the book is former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, portrayed as a friend of Vladimir Putin. Merely weeks after resigning from his parliamentary seat, Schröder was appointed chairman of the supervisory board of Nord Stream AG, a Gazprom subsidiary. His annual salary amounted to €250,000 (over 1 million PLN).
“Change through Rapprochement”: The German “Reset”
In its review of the book, the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung recalled that the policy of “change through rapprochement” with Russia, initiated by Schröder, was continued by his successor, Angela Merkel. The policy also had the support of the current German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“Since 2014, German companies have paid over €104 billion for Russian gas—excluding additional sums paid for oil and coal. These revenues enabled Russia to carry out its attack on Ukraine, even though the German government had considered the possibility of escalation as early as 2018,” Deutsche Welle noted in its commentary.
The year 2018 is significant—not coincidentally—as it was then that a Ukrainian delegation warned the German government of a potential Russian invasion and a large-scale migration from Ukraine. Berlin dismissed the threat.
The book by Dobbert and Thiel has sparked a national debate in Germany, particularly concerning the ties between politicians and specific institutions. One of the authors also described external pressures placed on the editor-in-chief of Zeit Online, who was reassigned from covering Russian affairs following a critical article on the Nord Stream project. Meanwhile, journalist Theo Sommer continued to publish pro-Russian commentaries.