Russia is closing the German consulate general in St Petersburg and all branches of Germany's Goethe Institute in the country in retaliation for measures announced by Berlin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Goethe Institute staff have been ordered to leave Russia by September 13, while employees of the German consulate general must leave the country by September 18, when the mission is due to close.
The measures come in response to Germany's announced closure of the Russia House cultural centre in Berlin and the Russian consulate general in Bonn.
Berlin announced the measures after blaming Moscow for an attempted attack involving an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig airport in early August. Russia categorically denies any involvement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the German measures a "serious mistake" and accused Berlin of relying on fabricated evidence.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went further, describing Germany's allegations against Moscow over the attempted attack as the "beginning of a real war."
Lavrov said the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russia House in Berlin reminded him of the events leading up to World War II and claimed that the Germans apparently wanted war again, according to comments carried on the website of Russia's Vesti news programme on Sunday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Germany of triggering "another escalation in bilateral relations" and said the German government bore "full responsibility" for the consequences.
The Goethe Institute is Germany's state-supported cultural organization, promoting the German language and fostering cultural exchange.
A drone carrying explosives was discovered near a Ukrainian transport aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month. The device did not detonate.
Two further drones were also spotted. After a four-week investigation, the German government attributed the failed attack to Russian intelligence services in early September.
Berlin believes Germany has become a target of covert Russian intelligence operations because of its support for Ukraine following Russia's invasion.
The closure of the St Petersburg consulate comes after years of tit-for-tat restrictions on the two countries' diplomatic presence.
In 2023, the German government barred Russia from operating four of its then five consulates general in Germany after Moscow imposed a cap of 350 on the number of German government employees allowed to work in Russia.
Germany subsequently closed its consulates general in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, while initially retaining its embassy in Moscow and consulate general in St Petersburg.
Berlin said at the time that the measures were intended to restore parity between the two countries' diplomatic representations.
According to the German government, Russia had forced several hundred German diplomats, teachers and Goethe-Institut employees to leave the country.
The successive restrictions have significantly reduced both countries' diplomatic presence, with some consular services already limited or subject to longer waiting times.