CDU scandal: Russian FSB ties shake German parliament
CDU representative Christian Hirte employed a Russian national with ties to the FSB, reported the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung." Thanks to Konstantin K., Kremlin authorities allegedly received firsthand information about German parliamentary contacts.
What do you need to know?
- CDU representative Christian Hirte employed a Russian, Konstantin K., who had access to the Bundestag until the end of 2024.
- Konstantin K. was suspected of having ties with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which was confirmed by German security agencies.
- Despite the suspicions, Hirte did not immediately terminate the contract with K. to avoid arousing his suspicions.
"The office of CDU politician Christian Hirte is located on the sixth floor of the Paul Loebe Haus building and resembles other Bundestag offices. After the (Russian) attack on Ukraine, a man from Russia began working here: Konstantin K.," writes "FAZ."
After the war broke out, K. contacted Hirte and told him that he had fled Russia in a hurry. The Russian's contract began in March 2023. He had previously worked at the Moscow office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and was a KAS scholarship recipient.
Putin's man in the Bundestag
According to the German newspaper, K. maintained contacts with Russian opposition figures who oppose Putin abroad. "He is considered well-connected in these circles and succeeds in introducing prominent opponents of Putin to the Bundestag." However, for some time, there were suspicions that "K. is in contact with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the powerful successor to the KGB in Putin's empire."
Thanks to his pass, Konstantin K. had access to the German parliament until the end of 2024. Hirte assures that K. did not have access to the office's or Bundestag's internal data. However, German security agencies confirmed that K. was in contact with the FSB.
"Russian authorities and their special services thereby had the opportunity to obtain firsthand information about the German parliament's contacts, especially the then opposition CDU/CSU's, with Russia and Putin's opponents," emphasizes "FAZ."
Despite suspicions, Hirte did not immediately terminate the contract with Konstantin K. to avoid arousing his suspicions. Only in late summer 2024 did he receive a recommendation to quietly end cooperation with the Russian. Hirte informed K. that his contract would expire at the end of 2024, after which K. stopped working in the Bundestag.
The German "Bild" notes that Hirte "also regularly traveled to Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014" and is one of a whole group of CDU/CSU politicians, including active foreign policy experts, "whose contacts with Russia are suspiciously monitored by friendly Western intelligence services."
