The German press has published an interesting story about how two Russian officials have saved Germany from total collapse.

It’s no exaggeration to say that life in Germany came to a standstill for a few days after the outbreak of the Ukraine war. Handelsblatt, the German business daily, pointed out that although Germany aimed to inflict economic harm on Russia, President Vladimir Putin almost succeeded in causing a severe energy crisis that was similar in proportion and, of course, the potential costs of this crisis would have been shouldered by German taxpayers.

By the end of March 2022, Ukraine had been under the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war for several weeks. Russia’s significant offensive had halted due to heavy losses on the battlefield. At a critical juncture, Vladimir Putin decided to deploy a weapon not used by Moscow even during the Cold War, putting Germany directly in the crosshairs.

During this period, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government were the most notably vocal in advocating for a ban on Russian energy supplies in the European Union, and the German government took a decisive step by ceasing to purchase gas from Russia.

The Kremlin’s plan was simple: Gazprom Germania, a German subsidiary of the Russian gas giant that had become a crucial part of Germany’s infrastructure in recent years, served as a sort of trump card for the Russians. A single move by Russian President Putin to cut off the gas supplies with the help of Gazprom Germania would have triggered an unforeseeable disaster.

This scenario would have involved nearly 250 municipal utility companies supplying heating and hot water to millions of Germans and businesses, almost 700 gas-fired power stations running on Russian gas, and 250 large companies and industrial firms relying on Russian gas for their operations.

„Millions of citizens would have found themselves trapped in cold homes. Offices couldn’t have functioned due to the cold, and shops and stores would have remained closed. Millions of employees would have been unable to go to work if businesses had been severed from gas and heating supplies,” explained Gerd Landsberg, president of the organisation of city associations, to the German daily Bild.

The German economy faced the imminent threat of complete bankruptcy, even with soaring gas prices. The potential catastrophic crash, however, was averted in the end. Handelsblatt attributes this fortunate outcome to two Russian officials who exposed Vladimir Putin’s dreaded plan and promptly alerted Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to Bild, a discussion in a bug-proof dining room ensued, where the officers explored strategies to fend off a potential Russian attack. The eventual solution was to place Gazprom’s German subsidiary under immediate state control. Since then, the German press has hailed the two officials as heroes, acknowledging that their lives have been in jeopardy ever since for exposing Vladimir Putin.