There is no need for influence, bribery, or espionage. It was simply the cheapest, most reliable source of energy. Russian gas "won" on the market. Regardless of what route Germany takes from here, it's almost certain they'll be paying more in energy costs.
Yes, if you rule out nuclear, than Russian gas was maybe the cheapest. Energiewende fail. They are so addicted to it that they even wanted to brand natural gas as a non greenhouse energy source. This was a central point of German decarbonization prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And the culprits are mainly the OPEC lobby and the Greens. With 70% electricity generated from nuclear, France does not have this problem. It's one of the things that de Gaulle got right. The others were vive la republique and fight the enemy at all costs instead of making concessions and armistices.
