In Germany in 2013, a party of Russian emigrants called ‘Unity’ (Die Einheit) was founded, led by Dmitry Rempel, a former SPD activist. The party’s sources of funding are unknown. During 2015–2016, Rempel feverishly set up party branches in various German states. The party’s stated political aims seem absurd: ‘The only party in Germany that focuses public efforts on realising the guarantees, rights and interests of migrants’. One might think that the rights of migrants in Germany are being violated, and that there are parties without a political programme. 
In 1916, Rempel became famous for stating in an interview with Crimean television that, apparently, half a million ‘Russian Germans’ were ready to return from Germany to Russia. In the 2017 parliamentary elections, the ‘Unity’ party received 373 votes and has since all but faded from view. In Germany, Moscow has found it far more effective to co-opt the existing major far-right and far-left parliamentary parties. The main conduit 
for Russian influence in Germany is the far-right party ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD). The ‘Left’ party (‘Die Linke’, formerly the SED’s SEDG) also behaves in an openly pro-Russian manner. Recruiting officials from existing parties has proved a far more effective way of infiltrating political circles in various countries than setting up imitation new parties. Nevertheless, attempts continue.