rdinator of the German government on cooperation with the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the ruling Christian Democratic Union in the Bundestag, Andreas Schockenhoff, criticized the new Russian laws on rallies and NGOs, the return of the defamation article to the Russian Criminal Code, as well as the trial of Pussy Riot. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Schockenhoff of using "smear tactics". German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle then said that Berlin would be "very closely" monitoring the actions of the Russian authorities in the field of human rights. "The partnership relations do not imply the rejection of criticism", warned Westerwelle.German reunification, Germany is home to a fast growing and large community of people of German ancestry who have moved to Germany as full citizens. In the 1990s, some 100,000 to 200,000 arrived annually. Germany also has funded the communities that remain behind in Russia.
. German-Russian Political and Economic relations
Russian relations are developing positively and dynamically. Mutual interest is keen and bilateral cooperation is close. This is reflected in the annual intergovernmental consultations, the most recent of which were held on 16 November 2012 in Moscow, and in the regular visits in both directions in the political, economic and cultural spheres. Russia sees Germany as a leading European partner, its most important one in economic terms. Germany has a strong interest in integrating the Russian Federation into multilateral structures and supports the process of transition there. The strategic partnership with Russia also entails frank, constructive and critical dialogue on differences of opinion (freedom of the press, human rights) as well as cooperation in modernizing amongst others the country s legal sector, health care and demographics, basic and further education and training, energy and transportation.an 8.7 per cent share in Russia s foreign trade, Germany is Russia s third most important trading partner worldwide, after the Netherlands, which imports mainly petroleum and petroleum derivatives from Russia via Rotterdam, and China. Following a 29 per cent increase in bilateral trade in 2011 compared with the previous year, bringing its total value to approximately EUR 75 billion, the first half of 2012 saw a further increase of 12 per cent. German exports to Russia grew by 16 per cent and imports from there by 8 per cent. Russia s principal exports to Germany were raw materials, in particular oil and natural gas, as well as metal goods and petrochemical products. Germany s main exports to Russia were mechanical engineering products (23 per cent), vehicles and vehicle parts (21 per cent), chemical products (8 per c...
