Dusseldorf Crack, hung up. Even the question of the press office seems to be too much for a German-Russian service provider these days. War is still raging in Ukraine and we want to know whether and how the conflict is affecting the working atmosphere. But a phone call fails, as does a request by email.
After a few hours, the boss still calls. He runs a German company, he emphasizes. The only connection to Russia is the nationality of the management. Otherwise there would be no dependency or affiliation with the Russian state. In fact, that wasn’t the question at all.
Russia has been attacking Ukraine for two weeks now, the countries are at war. Since then, the region has been deeply divided. Many Russians and Ukrainians are linked by friendship or family. In many places, however, there has been silence, skepticism or even open rejection – including in Germany.
Among the more prominent examples are the music artists Valery Gergiev and Anna Netrebko, who lost their engagements because they did not distance themselves from Russia’s invasion and its President Vladimir Putin. But the war is also leaving its mark aside from that: in Bietigheim near Stuttgart, an innkeeper wanted to take a stand against the war and promptly banned all Russians from entering the premises. After a shitstorm, he rejected the idea.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The armaments company Heckler & Koch is also currently facing accusations of discrimination. In the middle of this week it became known that the company no longer allows quality assurance employees with Russian roots to test weapons at the shooting range – officially for safety reasons.
The Handelsblatt learned that the secret services had warned of sabotage. That is why the company transferred “a few employees” from different nations at the main plant, including from other successor states of the Soviet Union. However, the allegation of discrimination is rejected in Oberndorf.
“What have I to fear now?”
Russians at work under general suspicion? Politicians say that shouldn’t happen. “The war in Ukraine is Putin’s war,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recently tweeted. Anyone who is hostile to Belarusians or Russians in Germany “is not only attacking our fellow citizens, but also the basic principles of our coexistence”. CDU leader Friedrich Merz made a similar statement. So far the claim, but what does the reality in Germany’s economy look like?
Request from a handful of Dax corporations and medium-sized companies. Here, too, there are initially few answers. According to Siemens Energy, the situation is currently “too volatile” to get an idea of the mood. The carmaker Volkswagen announced last week that it would stop its business in Russia. The fact that there are internal controversies because of this cannot be ruled out. “But the focus is on supporting the people affected with emergency humanitarian aid and on securing production,” explains a spokeswoman.
One who speaks openly is Axel Fischer, head of the Munich Clinic. On the Monday after the war began, he sent a high-priority message to his staff, Subject: Solidarity with the people of Ukraine. The core messages: “Stick together” and “We condemn this war.” Fischer employs 7,000 people, 35 of them with Ukrainian and 25 with Russian passports. The Ukrainians had come to Fischer before and asked for support and sent lists of medicines.
Talk about common values.
(Photo: Munich Clinic)
After the mail, a Russian employee got in touch and asked: “What do I have to fear now?” She reported resentment. Colleagues treated her “as if I had started the war myself,” she wrote to the head of the clinic. He answered her: She has nothing to fear. But he does expect that the attack on civilian victims and human rights will be condemned. “I didn’t hear anything from her after that.” Maybe discussions about common values are needed here, says Fischer.
The Russian community is very concerned about exclusion
Voices from the Russian community paint a mixed picture. One says: “I know Russians who work in Germany, for example from Donez, they would never openly say what they think.” But hardly anyone reports open discrimination, rather about support and a differentiated perspective. “My colleagues say that this is Putin’s war, not yours – and I’m very happy about that,” says a working student at a DAX company with Russian roots. Nevertheless, the fear of exclusion is real.
Julia* is a web designer in Berlin and has been living in Germany for ten years. Her bank here has already asked her for her residence papers so that she can continue to transfer bills and withdraw money. Her employer also severed initial business relationships with Russia. You yourself have received a lot of support from colleagues in discussions. “I get it: it’s all business, not personal,” she says. “But if the war continues, I’m worried that there could be consequences for me too.”
“Most of the Russians who work here in Germany are more Western and want to continue their careers in Europe or America,” says a German ex-Gazprom manager. For many, work permits and residence permits depended on employment – especially if they work for a Russian company abroad. Some are afraid that if locations are downsized or closed, they will have to go back. According to the manager, some even fear reprisals – “because of their western attitude”.
>>> Read here: Is there a new Russophobia? When anger hits the wrong people
To this day, parts of society react with resentment towards people who are not responsible for actions like Putin’s invasion. The Russian bistro Kalinka near Bremen’s Weser Stadium felt the same way. The menu includes solyanka for 6.90 euros and pelmeni for 5.50 euros. Judging by the restaurant ratings on Google Maps, guests have mostly liked it here recently: “Very tasty, very friendly, very good. We’d love to come back,” wrote one.
Conflict coach: “That is racism. I will not tolerate that.”
But for a few days completely different comments can be read there – presumably from people who have never been to Kalinka: “The war against Ukraine really spoiled my appetite,” writes one user. Another: “Suddenly everything here tastes like blood from innocent children.”
This could presumably go back to an information campaign that the hacker collective Anonymous has promoted. And which has obviously gotten out of hand. The idea: People in Russia are not informed about the true events in Ukraine due to the restrictions on free media and state propaganda. Therefore, users in the West should visit Russian restaurants virtually, leave them five-star ratings for the food and enlighten them about the war in the comments.
In Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, Google has temporarily blocked new reviews. Companies like Kalinka can request deletion. because such posts are against the guidelines.
Russophobia at work? Then you have to show your attitude, says conflict coach and mediator Jens Thumser. The boss must make it absolutely clear: “That is racism. I won’t tolerate that.” If agitators are identifiable, for example in the workshop or the canteen, “summon them immediately for a one-on-one interview in the manager’s office. And make it clear there what the consequences are if this happens again.”
In fact, racist or xenophobic statements are “a very strong lapse” that often leads directly to dismissal, says Christoph Seidler, a specialist lawyer for labor law at Kliemt in Hamburg. In milder cases, warnings or verbal warnings could also be issued.
Seidler advises: “In these politically charged times, employees and bosses are well advised to behave defensively with their opinions”. Anyone who knows that there are tensions can “make the line of the company clear to everyone again in an email or a team address” – without pointing out or attacking individuals. Supervisors are not allowed to dictate the opinions of their employees.
Clinic manager Fischer wants to keep in touch with all sides: he recently initiated a breakfast with his Ukrainian colleagues. Next week he will sit down with his Russian colleagues.
* All names have been anonymized
More: Five ways to talk about war with your team