Russia Is Exploiting AfD’s Rise to Deepen Ethnic Polarisation and Weaken Germany From Within

Germany’s domestic intelligence service has classified Alternative for Germany as an extremist organisation as evidence mounts that Moscow is using the party’s growing influence to fuel social fragmentation and undermine German support for Ukraine.

The Turkish community in Germany has warned of a sharp increase in physical violence from right-wing extremists, directly linked to AfD’s rising poll numbers. According to the organisation, high approval ratings for the party in eastern German states are creating an atmosphere of impunity, where inflammatory political rhetoric translates into real attacks. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt, the rate of far-right extremist crimes is reportedly three times the national average. Representatives of the organisation cited an incident on a train in Brandenburg where passengers and railway staff ignored racist threats directed at women, pointing to a growing indifference among the public as a warning sign in itself, as reported by the Lansing Institute.

AfD, the Kremlin, and a Shared Agenda

Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the BfV, officially classified the AfD as an extremist organisation in 2025, citing anti-Muslim and ethnically exclusionary ideology. The classification came after years of documented overlap between the party’s positions and Kremlin strategic priorities: opposition to sanctions on Russia, hostility toward NATO, resistance to military aid for Ukraine, amplification of anti-migrant narratives, and systematic efforts to erode trust in German democratic institutions.

The connections go beyond rhetoric. German lawmakers have accused AfD figures of acting in ways that served Russian intelligence interests, including gathering sensitive infrastructure information. Russian disinformation campaigns repeatedly amplified AfD messaging during German elections. After Germany classified the party as extremist, Kremlin officials publicly came to its defence.

Polarisation as a Strategic Goal

Moscow’s interest in AfD is not primarily about bringing the party to power. The strategic value lies elsewhere: a polarised Germany is less capable of sustaining support for Ukraine, less united internally, more vulnerable to political paralysis, and less effective as a leader within the EU and NATO.

The model follows a logic that Russian intelligence has applied across Europe and that traces back to Soviet-era active measures doctrine: exploit existing divisions rather than create them, radicalise political discourse, normalise extremism, and erode the social consensus that holds democratic institutions together. In Germany, the specific pressure points are anti-immigrant sentiment, anti-Muslim rhetoric, distrust toward the state, and tensions between the German majority and migrant communities, particularly the Turkish diaspora, which has been present in the country since the 1961 labour recruitment agreement.

With autumn state elections approaching in several German regions, members of the Turkish diaspora stress that AfD’s growing strength is causing millions of people to question whether the German state can guarantee their security and basic rights. That erosion of confidence is not a side effect of Russian strategy in Germany. That is the point.