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To outsiders, it may seem like an ordinary meeting place for Russian expats.

But German authorities are under growing pressure to close down the Russian House, amid concerns it is merely a front for Kremlin spies and propaganda purposes.

A senior figure in Germany’s opposition CDU party has warned that the centre is a front for “totalitarian” propaganda, and suspects it could be evading EU sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.

It could additionally serve as a “hub” for Russian agents according to Roderich Kiesewetter, the CDU’s crisis prevention spokesman and a former general staff officer of the Bundeswehr.