"The fate of Russian Germans and their future in Germany and elsewhere is close to our hearts," said Jürgen Braun, an AfD parliamentarian, during the event.
The event illustrated the AfD's ever-more-focused efforts to appeal to an estimated 5 million immigrants in Germany who hail from the former Soviet Union, about half of whom are Russian Germans. Though Russian-speakers in Germany are by no means a singular bloc -- and the group increasingly includes many Ukrainians and Russian dissidents who are repelled by the AfD's Kremlin-friendly stances -- their political power in Germany is broadly set to grow amid continuing migration from former Soviet states and the easing of German citizenship rules.
That helps explain why, a year ahead of a federal election and with current polls putting the AfD in second place, politicians in the party are making a concerted effort to reach Russian speakers -- particularly Russian Germans, also referred to in Germany as "late resettlers." During the parliamentary group meeting, AfD politicians called for raising pension payments for Russian Germans, and for removing obstacles for further immigration from Russia.
It is a striking policy agenda for a party that has often vilified immigrants but sees the segments of the post Soviet diaspora as a potential electoral boon.
"They are trying to become an exclusive party for Russian-speakers, supposedly by defending their interests," said Dmitri Stratievski, director of the Eastern Europe Centre in Berlin. {snip}
Beatrix von Storch, an AfD parliamentarian, suggested the Russlanddeutschen -- who descend from German emigres to the Russian Empire -- were indeed reciprocating the party's attention.