The Prosecutor General’s Office has declared the Russian émigré community in Berlin an “undesirable organisation”

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has declared the Berlin-based Russian émigré community Demokrati-JA an “undesirable organisation,” according to a statement on the department’s website.

“Members of this association are causing division in the Russian-speaking diaspora in Germany with the aim of encouraging activities within the community that go against Russia’s interests,” claims the Prosecutor General’s Office. “Mass anti-Russian public protests are held in Germany, materials are distributed that discredit the Russian Federation’s domestic and foreign policy, the state’s electoral system and the actions of the Russian Armed Forces during the ‘special military operation.’”

According to the Russian authorities, Demokrati-JA activists “promote a ‘totalitarian’ image of Russia and encourage Russophobia abroad,” call for trade, gas and oil embargoes against Russia, and urge the international community to provide military support to Ukraine.

The department also accuses Demokrati-JA of “distorting historical memory and diminishing the Soviet people’s achievement in defeating Nazism during the Great Patriotic War.”

Demokrati-JA is a community of civic activists of Russian origin who live in Germany. It emerged during the 2021 protests following the arrest of politician Alexei Navalny, who returned to Russia from Germany after being poisoned. In 2022, Demokrati-JA condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“First and foremost, we demand the immediate end to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops from all occupied territories. We strongly oppose dictatorship, repression and propaganda,” reads a statement on the community’s website.

Demokrati-JA activists take part in protests against the war in Ukraine and draw attention to political repression in Russia. In addition, each year on 8–9 May, Demokrati-JA and other organisations hold exhibitions and other events in Berlin’s Treptow Park dedicated to the crimes of the Soviet regime and the Russian authorities in the context of the war in Ukraine.