Radio presenter from Germering "disappointed with Putin" - cousin moderates Russian talk show

Created: 03/01/2022, 11:08 am

By: Thomas Benedikt, Peter Loder

Alexander Tauscher is deeply disappointed by Vladimir Putin's behavior.

The radio presenter had a Russian mother and was last visiting his cousin in Russia on New Year's Eve.

In the photo he is standing in front of the Kremlin in Moscow.

© Private

From ordinary people to politicians.

The Ukraine war concerns everyone.

While some are disappointed by Putin's aggression, others are preparing the way for the political future.

District

– “I have a Russian soul and will always love Russia, but now my world view has collapsed.” Alexander Tauscher was born 49 years ago in what was then the GDR and is a German citizen.

But Russian blood flows in the radio presenter from Germering.

His late mother was Russian.

Recent events have upset him, he is shocked.

Up to now, Tauscher has always flown to Moscow several times a year to visit his only surviving relative.

He celebrated the turn of the year with his cousin just a few weeks ago.

At the time he didn't think it would be his last visit to his second homeland.

The next reunion was planned for May 6th.

The flight had already been booked and the visa had only been issued a few days ago.

But now all airspace between Munich and Moscow is closed.

Tauscher's cousin is the journalist Natalia Metlina, who works for the Russian national TV channel "Zvezda" (The Star).

She hosts a talk show four times a week on the television station belonging to the Russian Ministry of Defense and is a non-party deputy on the Moscow City Council.

Thanks to the satellite dish installed on his Germeringer balcony, Tauscher regularly watches when it's on the air in the TV studio 2,300 kilometers away - like now, during the war in Ukraine.

What strikes him above all is the "differing perspectives on the events".

He says of his cousin: “She always tries to be as neutral as possible in front of the camera and avoids any derogatory remarks about Ukraine.

This is not a matter of course in Russian state media.”

The 49-year-old, whose travel reports have been broadcast by 40 radio stations nationwide for 15 years, had "a lot of understanding" for Putin's Ukraine policy until two weeks ago.

"But now he scares me.

I'm disappointed in him." Tauscher knows the country and its people too well, which is why he believes: "The majority is still behind Putin, he is seen as a strong man."

Nevertheless: A "touching encounter" that only took place on New Year's Eve gives Tauscher hope for relaxation: "A confidante of former President Gorbachev said to me: We would never shoot at each other."

Politicians speak of a turning point

And while people like Alexander Tauscher are still hoping for relaxation, a special session of the Bundestag in Berlin set the course for a realignment of foreign policy.

The SPD member of the Bundestag from Olching, Michael Schrodi, was there.

The SPD man speaks of an appropriate and apt speech by the Federal Chancellor.

"The debate on Sunday was historic," says Green MP Beate Walter-Rosenheimer.

According to Schrodi, the signal internally and externally is clear: "We will do everything to protect ourselves and our European neighbors." The last few days have been the end of the European peace and security architecture.

"We have therefore quickly and clearly adapted our foreign and security policy to the new challenges," says Schrodi.

Katrin Staffler also speaks of an about-face in foreign and defense policy.

The CSU member of the Bundestag, who was unable to attend the meeting due to a corona infection, supports the government's push to invest more money in the Bundeswehr.

Hard-working helpers continue to collect donations in the district and drive them to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

After Putin's nuclear threat, demand for iodine tablets increased in the region.