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The Treaties

Five relevant German-Russian agreements form the cultural-policy framework. They govern different subjects — and have different durations and termination mechanisms.

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The termination window for the 2011 Activities Agreement closes on 6 December 2026. Without timely notice, the specific 2011 regime remains in force for another five years. The 1992 Cultural Cooperation Agreement would remain in force alongside it.

Act now

Notice by 6 December 2026 at the latest
2011 Activities Agreement — governs the specific treaty regime for the Russian House and the Goethe-Instituts: events, revenue, subletting, personnel status and other privileges.
→ If notice is given in time, the current period ends at the close of 6 June 2027.

Next lever

Notice by 17 November 2027 at the latest
1992 Cultural Cooperation Agreement — the foundational cultural-policy treaty. The 2003 Language Agreement expressly provides that it ceases to have effect if the 1992 agreement ceases to have effect.
→ Terminating the foundational treaty would therefore have consequences for the wider treaty framework.

99 years — but a different question

2013 Accommodation Agreement
Land & buildings — duration 99 years; ordinary termination only by notice twelve months before expiry. Attorney Jens Baganz separately argues that Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties could permit extraordinary termination or suspension.
→ This Article 62 argument is a legal position and must be kept separate from ordinary termination of the 2011 Activities Agreement.

Overview of all relevant agreements

Why the 2011 and 2013 agreements must be read separately

The wording separates the agreements twice over. Article 1(2) of the 2011 Activities Agreement expressly assigns land, ownership and possession questions to a “separate agreement”. The 2013 Accommodation Agreement, in turn, refers to the 2011 agreement and states in Article 4 that its provisions remain “unaffected”.
→ Full treaty analysis: “Two Treaties, One Statement”

Article 62 VCLT: an additional legal argument concerning the 2013 agreement

⚖️ What does Article 62 provide?+

Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties concerns a fundamental change of circumstances. Under narrow conditions, such a change may be invoked as a ground for terminating or withdrawing from a treaty; paragraph 3 also allows suspension under the same conditions.

This is an extraordinary international-law argument and must be distinguished from the ordinary termination clauses contained in the individual agreements.

📋 The position of attorney Jens Baganz+

Attorney Jens Baganz takes the view that the fundamental changes in German-Russian relations since 2013 could satisfy the requirements of Article 62. He therefore considers both termination and suspension of the Accommodation Agreement legally arguable.

This is a legal position. Whether Article 62 actually applies in this specific case would require separate legal assessment.

Assessment by attorney Jens Baganz“I consider it clear that Germany could terminate the 2013 agreement. Suspension would also be possible; see Article 62(3) of the Vienna Convention.”
Important for the current debate: On the wording of the treaties, termination of the 2011 Activities Agreement would not automatically terminate the 2013 Accommodation Agreement. What would fall away is the specific 2011 regime with its concrete rights and privileges. The 1992 Cultural Cooperation Agreement would initially remain in force; which activities would still be possible on that basis alone and under German law would require separate examination.
Youth agreement: implementation structure in transition. Article 5 provides for national coordination offices. The Foundation for German-Russian Youth Exchange described itself from 2006 as the central German coordination office and announced in December 2025 that its work would end at year-end; from 2026 the Juve Foundation operates with an expanded regional focus. It remains open how the function of the German national coordination office provided for in the agreement has since been formally performed.