It seemed strange for Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder to embark on a new career as sanctifier of Russo-German energy pipelines, but particle physics is stranger, so I scratched my head and let it go at that. Little pieces started to come together when I read Roman Kupchinsky's illuminating piece for the Jamestown Foundation.
Writing more than a month ago, Kupchinsky highlighted a significant dinner to be hosted by German Ambassador to the U.S., Klaus Scharioth, with the head of the Nord Stream project, Matthias Warnig. At the time, the dinner provided a diplomatic opportunity for Warnig to summon support from the DC community for Nord Stream. Kupchinsky deserves a small and precious trinket for the information he shares about Matthias Warnig, the delight of the German diplomatic scene, in this context.
Who is Matthias Warnig?
A number of years ago the German media reported that he was a former intelligence operative for the East German Ministry for State Security, the Stasi. According to his declassified Stasi file, his codename was "Arthur" and he began working for the Stasi in 1974. The file shows that he was a member of the Stasi's Felix Dzerzhinsky brigade and attended its intelligence school.
The young Warnig rapidly rose in the ranks of East German intelligence and was awarded a number of medals for his services. In Befehl Nummer K 5447/84 (Order number K 5447/84) "Leutnant Warnig, Matthias" was awarded the medal for "Verdienste um Volk und Vaterland" (For Meritorious Service to the People and the Fatherland). In Order number K 109/88 "Oberleutnant Warnig, Matthias" was awarded a number of medals; for meritorious service in the NVA (National People's Army), the border guards of the DDR, as an activist of socialist labor and others. On October 7, 1989 he was awarded 9 gold medals by Erich Fritz Emil Mielke, the head of the Stasi. By this time his rank was that of Hauptmann (Captain).
What did Hauptmann Warnig do to deserve so many decorations?
The files list a number of targets Warnig - "Arthur" was assigned to spy upon. These ranged from a report he submitted in May, 1987 which contain documents about the energy business in West Germany, to a report dated December 8, 1987 about the policies of enterprise management in the West. He also submitted reports about biotech research in the West, computer technology and dozens of other reports mainly dealing with industrial espionage.
Warnig's career was furthered by his alleged relationship with KGB Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Putin in Dresden. According to German press reports, the two men were allegedly collaborating on recruiting West German citizens to work for the KGB according to Warnig's former colleagues. Warnig has denied this accusation.
Warnig eventually became the head of the Russian division of Dresdner Bank. Under Warnig, the Moscow office enjoyed a lucrative business relationship with Gazprom and the state oil company Rosneft, handling debt issues, loan valuations and loan management. In 2004-05, the bank advised on the Rosneft-Yukos "merger." It also lent Rosneft money to secure its stake in the Siberian production arm of Yukos -Yuganskneftegaz" (www.independent.co.uk, January 1, 2005).
Warnig's upcoming visit to the U.S. (he made a similar visit a few months ago to attend a PR event sponsored by a leading Washington law firm) indicates that Gazprom and the Russian government intend influencing policy makers in Washington that Nord Stream is in the national security interests of the United States.
In fact, the EU has observed Russia's attempt to leverage the instability in Ukraine for the purposes of pipeline politics. Earlier this month, a phone conversation between the head of the European Commission and Russian Prime Minister Putin led the commission to urge all EU member states to start filling gas storage facilities given an imminent Russian-Ukranian gas war. Following the Russian-Ukranian gas "conflict" at the start of this year, Gazprom spokesmen and Putin insisted that the Ukraine was "an unreliable transit country for Russian gas to Europe"-- this after the Russian government shut off the gas for a period of weeks in the Ukraine.
The Gas Tussle between Russia and the Ukraine
The gas conflict with Ukraine is actually part of a strategy pursued by Moscow and Gazprom since early 2006, as reported by John Vinokur. Russia used Gazprom as a tool to punish Ukraine for its "favorable orientation toward the European Union and NATO". This was accomplished by demanding much higher prices for gas and cutting off supply as a retaliatory measure. A former economic advisor for Putin, Andrei Illarionov, resigned from a Kremlin team three years ago due to frustrations with Gazprom's conflicts of interest and corruption. Illarionov also called Moscow's pressure on Ukraine "a move toward a policy of imperialism".
Meanwhile, the Russian government continues to push the position that the Nord Stream and South Stream gas pipelines are the safest bet to ensure to energy security of the EU. Kupchinsky doesn't understand why the Russians would select a former Stasi diva, like Warnig, to handle the sensitive European lobbying efforts. He thinks that "few in the new administration will relish talking to a former Stasi agent and many members of Congress will be reluctant to listen to his soothing, if somewhat dubious message." A month ago, Kupchinsky had a point-- why picked a "tainted" messenger to persuade liberal democracies on security issues?
Projected Players and Winners on the Scene
In light of recent developments, the tangled Russian-German cooperation in the Gazprom ventures deserves a closer look. The players who stand to benefit from the Nord Stream pipeline include a diverse group of business financiers and bankers. Notably, however,the management of Nord Stream AG is a cornucopia of Russian and German surnames, suggesting an established German-Russian financial stake in Nord Stream.
With twenty years of experience in international banking, Matthias Warnig is an established brand in the industry. The close ties between Dresdner Bank and Gazprom are certainly related to Warnig's role as Chairman and Chief Executive of Dresdner Bank's operations in Russia. Warnig's rise to the top of the Dresdner Bank did not follow the usual pattern; his initial relations with the bank were as a Stasi agent spying on Dresdner in the 1970's. When the bank decided to hire him, he had no previous credentials in the banking business, unless you count his work in the spying business.
In the 1990's, charges were brought against Warnig by the BKA, Germany's version of the FBI. Those charges were later dropped. No official reason was given. In light of his past, Warnig is a post-communist success story-- the sort of man with enough friends and contacts to overcome the usual impediments to reputation posed by hours logged as a Stasi agent. Last month, Warnig joined the board of the well-regarded French Credit Agricole S.A. As a master at the art of the business deal, Warnig appeals to Europeans with his pragmatic arguments and non-confrontational demeanor. He demurs to the "two pipeline solution" in public statements. He notes the importance of "infrastructure development" at a time when Europeans are hungry for jobs.
Warnig might well have read the American gospel enshrouded in the works of Dale Carnegie. He knows how to make friends and influence people regardless of the political milieu. Communist, capitalist, socialist-- you name it, Matthias Warnig can warm up to it. When Gerhard Schroeder began his new position as chairman of a Gazprom subsidiary following an invitation extended by his old friend, Vladimir Putin, I wondered if Schroeder had just run out of ways to keep himself busy and important. I have come to believe, however, that this link between Schroeder, Putin, and Warnig is too alarming to be coincidental. Did Warnig and Schroeder have a past in the GDR? How did Putin tie in to this past? The triangle is worthy of further investigation.
More on the pipeline battles:
+ Hungary's reasons for supporting the Nord Stream are not limited to schadenfreude towards neighboring Romania, who stands to benefit from Nord Stream's competitor, Nabucco. In fact, there is a shady, criminal element to the Hungarian business associations with Nord Stream as well.
+ Patrick Seale's analysis of the pipeline wars looks at the critical role played by Middle Eastern states, including Iraq and iran, for the Nabucco pipeline.
+ Gazprom's "Nigaz" project, which aims at Nigeria, raises eyebrows across the jet-setting crowd.
+ The Romanian President continued to publicly maintain support for Serbia this year, which is interesting given that the Serbian government recently announced its favoritism for South Stream over Nabucco.
+ In 2005, Commerzbank, another German bank cozy with Russian energy cartels, found itself at the core of a German money-laundering inquiry after it set up a shell company for telecom assets connected to Russian Telecoms and Tech Minister Leonid Reiman. The investigation led to the resignation of a senior Commerzbank manager.
