Spokesman of Germany's far-right AfD holds job at Russian academy

The foreign policy spokesman of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag admitted on Wednesday to holding a second job as an honorary professor at a Russian music academy.

Matthias Moosdorf, who is a cellist, confirmed in a statement that he is teaching at the internationally renowned Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, following media reports.

He said he has repeatedly held guest professorships during his career as a musician and that this position reflects and honours his work as a globally active chamber musician.

Moosdorf, who has been a member of parliament for the far-right AfD since 2021, referred to the professorship as a sign of understanding, saying he wants "to give the young people [in Russia] the feeling that they are not left behind by Europe," adding that "music knows no ideological boundaries."

He said he was in Moscow privately for three days in September giving a "kind of pro bono inaugural lecture," and that he intends to teach chamber music to ensembles there for several days once a quarter but that no contracts had been discussed.

According to the German online news outlet T-Online, the Gnessin academy is funded by the Russian Culture Ministry.

In his statement, Moosdorf said he could not see any political orientation of the academy. "I'm also not interested in it. My work is exclusively dedicated to music as a universal language of reconciliation and understanding."

The deputy parliamentary leader of Germany's Green party, Konstantin von Notz, criticized Moosdorf's employment at the academy. "Once again it has become clear how close the ties between Moscow and the AfD are," he told T-Online.

"How one can credibly make policy as a foreign policy spokesman while being financed by dictatorships through honorary professorships is known only to the AfD itself," von Notz added.