Petrozavodsk-Tübingen Friendship Society: history, activities, and plans

Full name: Petrozavodsk City Public Organization “Petrozavodsk–Tübingen Friendship Society”
Abbreviated name: PGOO “OD Petrozavodsk–Tübingen”
Status: non-profit, membership-based public organization.
Territory of activity: city of Petrozavodsk (Republic of Karelia, Russia).
Date of foundation: October 14, 2019 (adoption of the Charter by the Founding Assembly).

The organization operates on the basis of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law “On Non-Profit Organizations,” the Federal Law “On Public Associations,” and other legal acts, and is also guided by generally recognized international principles and norms.

History of creation

The roots of the Friendship Society go back to the late 1980s, when sister-city ties between Petrozavodsk and Tübingen began to take shape.

Key milestones:

May 1989 — the first official delegation from Tübingen visited Petrozavodsk to discuss establishing sister-city relations.
October 9, 1989 — the Treaty on Friendly Relations between the cities was solemnly signed at the executive committee of the Petrozavodsk City Council. The signatures were affixed by P.E. Peshchenko and Dr. E. Schmid.
In the 1990s, members of the German “West-East” society (Tübingen) played an active role in supporting the ties; they organized the delivery to Petrozavodsk of more than 900 tons of humanitarian aid (clothing, medical equipment, books, food parcels, etc.).
In the 2000s–2010s, activists on both sides continued the work, among whom Lilia Künstle (Bukhlaeva) stands out in particular — chair of the “West-East” society in Tübingen and a native of Petrozavodsk.
October 14, 2019 — at the Founding Assembly, the Charter was approved and the Petrozavodsk City Public Organization “Petrozavodsk–Tübingen Friendship Society” was officially created.

Today the organization is the successor of many years of friendly traditions and connects cultural, educational, and public initiatives of the two cities.

Goals and objectives (according to the Charter)

Main goal — to develop and strengthen cooperation, business, and cultural ties between Petrozavodsk and Tübingen, as well as to protect the rights and legitimate interests of the Organization’s members.

Main activities:

organizing and holding cultural, educational, and public events;
promoting research work and the implementation of its results;
exchanging experience in various fields between the sister cities;
participating in charitable, volunteer, and voluntary activities;
putting forward initiatives to municipal authorities on issues of developing sister-city ties;
publishing and editorial activities;
promoting the integration of Tübingen citizens into Russian society;
introducing Russians to the culture, language, and traditions of Germany and, conversely, Germans to the culture of Karelia and Russia;
promoting the establishment of mutually beneficial contacts between Russian and German business circles.

The organization also has the right to carry out entrepreneurial activity if it corresponds to the statutory goals (for example, conducting paid seminars, language clubs, selling souvenir products).

Key areas of work

Cultural and educational projects

The Society regularly holds:

exhibitions of Karelian and German artists (for example, “Cities in Winter” by Marina Mikova, “Memory of the Heart” by Anna Arlamova);
master classes in folk crafts (felt, silk painting, Veps cuisine);
literary and musical evenings dedicated to German and Karelian poets;
displays of traditional costumes, celebrations of Maslenitsa, Christmas, and Easter.

Language and educational initiatives

One of the flagship projects has become the course “Family Evening with German Language,” which is held at the organization’s premises.

Format: meetings once a month for children (from 6 years old) and adults.
Content: participants get acquainted with the German language through immersion in Karelian culture, traditions, the epic “Kalevala,” folk instruments (kantele), costumes, and cuisine.
Teacher: Ekaterina Yakovleva (head of the Society, associate professor at PetrSU).
Assistants: Karelian craftswoman Margarita Kemppainen, student volunteers.
Classes are free, language level — from beginner.

The course was dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia (2026) and received high praise from participants.

Student projects

Under the leadership of the Society, PetrSU students developed:

a German-language booklet “The Diversity of Karelia” for sending to Tübingen;
a guide “Germany in Five Minutes” (based on the booklet “Karelia in Five Minutes”);
a series of magnets with symbols of Karelia (cloudberry, pike, kalitka) with captions in Karelian and German.

Memory and continuity

The Society actively cooperates with museums and veterans. In November 2025, the Museum and Exhibition Center of the Institute of Foreign Languages “The World of Languages and Cultures” hosted the exhibition “FLA/IFL 1965–2025,” where an essay was presented about Sergey Vladimirovich Klodt — a war veteran, pilot, teacher, and permanent interpreter at sister-city meetings in the 1990s.

The exhibition was visited by relatives of S.V. Klodt, who noted the importance of preserving the memory of the people who stood at the origins of friendship between Petrozavodsk and Tübingen.

Present day and plans

In 2026, 37 years will have passed since the signing of the Treaty on Friendly Relations. The Society continues its active work:

“Family Evenings with German Language” are held regularly;
meetings, lectures, and celebrations are organized;
contacts with German partners are maintained (West-Ost-Gesellschaft Tübingen);
work with young people and students continues;
new projects dedicated to the anniversary of the sister-city relations are planned.

“People are social beings. They need interaction with other people. These social ties are not limited to one city, region, or even country. It is always interesting to learn how people live beyond the horizon. We exchange experience and enrich each other’s culture; we study foreign languages in order to understand each other and interact.”

— Ekaterina Yakovleva, head of the Society

Photo archive

November 2016. Master classes on Veps cuisine were held in Tübingen. (photo archive of B.N. Konanov)

Summer 2015. The German city of Karlsruhe. International conference dedicated to sister-city ties between Russian and German cities. (photo archive of B.N. Konanov)

Other photo albums

Contacts

Phone: +7 (953) 549 55 88 (from 9:00 to 21:00)
E-mail: ptz-tue1@yandex.ru
Address: Petrozavodsk, Anokhina St., 45
Social networks: VKontakte group

Join us — we are open to everyone who wants to get acquainted with the culture of the two cities, learn German, or simply become part of a big friendly family!

Contact us

Translations