Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder visited a Moscow branch of Hyperglobus, a Russian supermarket chain spun off from Germany’s Globus Holding last year, shortly after being appointed to its supervisory board. During his visit on Wednesday, Schröder was warmly greeted by employees and praised the supermarket's work. This trip highlights ongoing tensions in Germany over Schröder's close ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, especially amid sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
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same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Gerhard Schröder, former German chancellor, visited a Hyperglobus supermarket chain branch in Moscow on Wednesday after being appointed to its supervisory board. The Russian TV footage showed employees greeting him and his wife with applause. Hyperglobus was spun off from Germany's Globus Holding last year. Schröder’s close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, including roles at Rosneft and Nord Stream, have become contentious in Germany since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite being suggested as a potential peace mediator by Putin, Schröder is likely unacceptable to all parties except Russia, particularly Ukraine.
Written for “Schröder Russia Visit” on 2026-10-07,
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Leaning: leans left for article 63474 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-07
Gerhard Schröder visited one of the Moscow branches of the new Hyperglobus supermarket chain on Wednesday, a few days after being named a member of its supervisory board.
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Schröder → visit → board
Russian TV footage showed employees at the branch greeting the former German chancellor and his current wife, So-yeon Schröder-Kim, with sustained applause.
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employees → show → applause
Schröder has current or recent links to a series of Russian businesses and to President Vladimir Putin, issues that have become increasingly contentious in Germany in recent years, particularly since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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that → have → 2022
The new Russian supermarket chain Hyperglobus was spun off from Germany's Globus Holding last year.
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chain → spin → Holding
Last week, Hyperglobus announced that Schröder had been appointed to the supervisory board.
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Schröder → announce → board
The supermarket confirmed that the former chancellor and Social Democrat had visited a branch on the western outskirts of Moscow on Wednesday.
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chancellor → confirm → Wednesday
"I'm very pleased to be here, to see this wonderful hypermarket, to see the results of your work and to meet you, my wonderful colleagues," RBC television in Russia quoted Schröder as saying.
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television → see → Schröder
Schröder also reportedly called last week for the continuation of remaining trade ties between Russia and countries like Germany amid the sanctions imposed since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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Schröder → call → Ukraine
"It is exactly in these crisis times that these ties are especially important: they allow us to hear each other and look for ways forward," newspaper RBK reported him as saying last Friday.
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RBK → allow → him
Schröder's close ties to Putin came under scrutiny even while he was still in office, not least in 2004 when Schröder responded to a question from a reporter by saying that, yes, he believed Putin was a "flawless democrat" or lupenreiner Demokrat.
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Putin → come → reporter
Even 22 years ago, this assertion strained credulity in many eyes — not least among opposition groups or in war-torn Chechnya.
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assertion → strain → Chechnya
On leaving politics, Schröder kept close ties to the Kremlin and took up a series of senior roles, perhaps most famously on the board of the Rosneft energy giant and before that on the board of the Nord Stream gas pipeline project that was majority owned by Gazprom.
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that → leave → Gazprom
In 2014, not long after the annexation of Crimea and as a Russian-backed civil war brewed in Ukraine, Schröder was Nord Stream's guest of honor in St. Petersburg, where he celebrated his 70th birthday in lavish style.
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he → back → style
Four years later, after an election many in the West decried as bordering on a sham, Schröder took a prominent place at the 2018 swearing-in ceremony for Putin's fourth presidential term at the Kremlin (pictured above).
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Schröder → decry → Kremlin
Now-deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny once said Schröder was Putin's "errand boy."
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Schröder → decease → ?
In 2024, Schröder was stripped of a state-funded office and staff — typically provided to former chancellors — on the basis that he was no longer fulfilling any obligations tied to his previous role in government.
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he → strip → government
His party, the center-left Social Democrats, tried on several occasions to eject him as a member.
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party → try → member
Each attempt failed to clear the high legal bars required, and he remains a member, having joined in 1963.
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he → fail → 1963
Putin has often suggested him as a possible peace mediator between Russia, Ukraine and Europe — with Schröder also expressing a willingness to take on the role — even though the reality is he would likely be entirely unacceptable as a mediator to all parties other than Russia, and particularly to Ukraine.
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he → suggest → Ukraine
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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you → edit → news
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