Dr. Wilma Rethage officially introduced / Dr. Jörn Achterberg says farewell after seven years

The DFG Office Russia/CIS has a new director: at a reception in the House of Scientists in Moscow on 15 September 2016, Dr. Wilma Rethage took over the role previously held by Dr. Jörn Achterberg. DFG Secretary General Dorothee Dzwonnek welcomed nearly one hundred guests to the reception, including the German Ambassador in Moscow, Rüdiger von Fritsch, and senior representatives of the DFG’s three key partner organisations in Russia: Vladislav Panchenko, the chair of RFBR, RSF director general Aleksandr Khlunov, and Vladimir Fridlyanov, the chair of RFH. The event was also attended by many researchers from DFG-funded cooperation projects. “This evening is all about Russian-German friendship in science and research,” said Dzwonnek, “a friendship which is closely linked to the work of the DFG office in Moscow but is also reflected by many other partners and institutions.”

She went on to note that, while effective structures and institutional partnerships are important to German-Russian cooperation in research, the individuals who make this cooperation work are equally important. Dzwonnek therefore expressed special thanks to Jörn Achterberg, who served as director for seven years: “Your intimate knowledge of Russian culture and the Russian university landscape, your expertise in political, social and historical matters have made you a much sought-after dialogue partner among researchers and research managers in Russia and Germany – and a mediator between cultures.”

She recalled that many new research cooperations came about during Achterberg’s term of office, for example the Leibniz Lectures and the Young Researcher Weeks in partnership with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The cooperation with the Russian Foundation for the Humanities (RFH) was also reinvigorated, a new joint funding cooperation with the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) was established and the first joint Collaborative Research Centres were funded with the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR).

Achterberg thanked all the partner organisations present for the close and trusting partnership that had formed. “Please show my successor the same confidence you have always shown in me.”

The DFG Office Russia/CIS will now be led by Dr. Wilma Rethage. Dr. Rethage, who has a doctorate in Russian, previously worked at the DFG Head Office in Bonn, where she was responsible for cooperation with Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. She also has many years of experience in German-Russian cultural exchange: in addition to spending a semester in Kazan, she completed a placement with the Delegation of German Industry and Trade in St. Petersburg and worked for a year as cultural manager for the Bosch Foundation and the Goethe-Institut in Archangelsk. On top of this varied expertise, Secretary General Dzwonnek also emphasised the “energy, pragmatism and organisational talent” of the new office director: “She tirelessly represents the interests of the DFG and will therefore make possible a smooth transition in the Moscow office and continue to guarantee the reliability of our funding activities,” said Dzwonnek.

Rethage added how much she was looking forward to her new role – “and making an impact in German-Russian cooperation”.