Austria–Russia relations
Encyclopedia
Austria–Russia relations refers to the political, economic and social relations between Austria
and Russia
and their predecessor states.
(r. 1682-1725) but there were contacts between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Tsars of Muscovy the most known of all was the Embassy conducted by Herberstein in the 16th Century. Between these two vast monarchies lay the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
and the Ottoman Empire
. However as the Habsburgs expanded their domain (often shortened as "Austria" after its central province, the Archduchy of Austria
) south and east and Russia south and west, relations between the two monarchies became vital to European security.
Russia's entry into European affairs created a recurring alliance between Russia and Austria often directed against the Ottomans and France
. Russia and Austria were allies during the War of the Polish Succession
(1733–1738), the War of the Austrian Succession
(1740–1748), the Seven Years' War
(1756–1763), and from 1787 to 1791 the monarchies both waged separates wars against the Ottomans (the Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
and the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)). The coming of the French Revolution
created ideological solidarity between the absolutist monarchies including Russia and Austria, which both fought against France during the French Revolutionary Wars
and the Napoleonic Wars
.
and after the Congress of Vienna
the great reactionary
powers of Europe pledged to work together to keep revolution at bay, and Austria and Russia were the greatest defenders of the Vienna settlement
.
The Revolutions of 1848
shook the Habsburg lands
, and the Hungarian lands declared their independence
. Russia intervened by invading Hungary to suppress the revolutions and restore the Habsburg sovereignty.
During the Crimean War
Austria maintained a policy of hostile neutrality
towards Russia, and, while not going to war, was supportive of the Anglo-French coalition. This stance deeply angered Nicholas I of Russia
and was a serious strain to Russo-Austrian relations thereafter. Russia subsequently stood aside as Austria was evicted from the Italian
and German
states. The Habsburgs therefore gave in to Hungarian demands for autonomy and refounded their state as the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
-speaking peoples under the Tsar's leadership. This lead them to pursue an anti-Slavic
policy domestically and abroad. The major source of tension between Austria-Hungary and Russia was the so-called Eastern Question
: what to do about the weakening Ottoman Empire and its rebellious Christian subjects.
In order to counter to Russia's support for independence movements in the Balkans Austria occupied Bosnia
in 1878. This brought Austria into conflict with the Principality of Serbia, an autonomous (de facto independent) state within the Ottoman Empire under Russian influence and protection.
Serbia was elevated to a kingdom
in 1882, as the Ottoman Empire further decayed. When the Ottomans attempted to assert control over Bosnia, Austria formally annexed it in 1908, against the protests of Serbia and Russia, during the Bosnian crisis
.
The lasting result was bitter enmity between Austria-Hungary on one side and Serbia and Russia on the other. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Serb nationalist of the Black Hand
secret society, Austria delivered the July Ultimatum
to Serbia demanding that the Austrian police and military have the right to enter Serbia. Serbia rejected this which led to the Austrian invasion of Serbia
, the first battle of the First World War. Russia and Austria would fight to the point of exhaustion on the bloody Eastern Front
. The war ended with revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in both empires.
left after the war eventually joined with Nazi Germany in the Anschluss
, and was therefore part of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
After the war Austria was occupied by the allied armies
, separated from Germany, and divided into four zones of occupation. The Soviets did not create a separate socialist government in their zone as they did in East Germany. Instead Austria was required to sign the Austrian State Treaty
of 1955 under which it pledged total neutrality
in the growing Cold War
.
paid a state visit
to Austria. In 2001, shortly before Putin’s arrival to a meeting in Vienna, the Russian ambassador to Austria is reported to have stated that any attempt by Austria to join NATO would be seen as a violation of international law
.
The fact that Austrian financial companies are not required to disclose owners, combined with tendency to turn blind eye to suspicious transfers, has helped to make Austria a center for Russian financial operations.
In 2003 SVR agent Vladimir Alganov
was caught in Vienna discussing bribes Russian spies had paid to top Polish officials.
When Putin came to power, Vienna became the hub for numerous Gazprom-connected companies, such as GWH, Centrex Group, CentraGas Holding, Zangas, Centrex Energy Italian Gas Holding AG, Central Energy Italian Gas Holding AG, GroupDF, Ostchem Holdings, Deg Handles, Ukrinvest Holdings, and Citel AG. According to Kupchinsky, it has strengthened Gazprom's position in the Austrian market
, in addition to giving it higher access to government officials.
, who had filed a complaint to the European court of human rights and was just about to tell his story to the New York Times, was assassinated in Vienna in 2009. Austrian police and others suspected the Kremlin. Oleg Orlov, the director of Moscow's Memorial Human Rights Centre
, said "We are deeply alarmed about what appears to be another politically motivated killing of a critic of high-level Russian government officials. ... In light of the brutal retaliation inflicted on those who speak out on abuses in Chechnya, Israilov's actions were particularly courageous, and his killers and those behind them need to be promptly held to account". Related to the case might be murders of human rights lawyer Anastasia Baburova and journalist Anastasia Baburova - both were interested in Israilov's case.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and their predecessor states.
Early history
The lands now part of Austria were once simply a collection of fiefs of the House of Habsburg whose head was also the Holy Roman Emperor from the 15th Century on. The history of Austria in international relations during this time period was synonymous with the foreign policy of the Habsburgs. Russia was more or less uninterested in European affairs before Peter IPeter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
(r. 1682-1725) but there were contacts between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Tsars of Muscovy the most known of all was the Embassy conducted by Herberstein in the 16th Century. Between these two vast monarchies lay the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. However as the Habsburgs expanded their domain (often shortened as "Austria" after its central province, the Archduchy of Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
) south and east and Russia south and west, relations between the two monarchies became vital to European security.
Russia's entry into European affairs created a recurring alliance between Russia and Austria often directed against the Ottomans and France
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...
. Russia and Austria were allies during the War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
(1733–1738), the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
(1740–1748), the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
(1756–1763), and from 1787 to 1791 the monarchies both waged separates wars against the Ottomans (the Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
The Austro-Turkish War of 1787 was an inconclusive struggle between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. It took place concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792.-History:...
and the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)). The coming of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
created ideological solidarity between the absolutist monarchies including Russia and Austria, which both fought against France during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Austrian and Russian Empires
In 1804 Austria was proclaimed an EmpireAustrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and after the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
the great reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
powers of Europe pledged to work together to keep revolution at bay, and Austria and Russia were the greatest defenders of the Vienna settlement
Concert of Europe
The Concert of Europe , also known as the Congress System after the Congress of Vienna, was the balance of power that existed in Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the outbreak of World War I , albeit with major alterations after the revolutions of 1848...
.
The Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
shook the Habsburg lands
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
, and the Hungarian lands declared their independence
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
. Russia intervened by invading Hungary to suppress the revolutions and restore the Habsburg sovereignty.
During the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
Austria maintained a policy of hostile neutrality
Armed neutrality
Armed neutrality, in international politics, is the posture of a state or group of states which makes no alliance with either side in a war, but asserts that it will defend itself against resulting incursions from all parties....
towards Russia, and, while not going to war, was supportive of the Anglo-French coalition. This stance deeply angered Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
and was a serious strain to Russo-Austrian relations thereafter. Russia subsequently stood aside as Austria was evicted from the Italian
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
and German
Unification of Germany
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German...
states. The Habsburgs therefore gave in to Hungarian demands for autonomy and refounded their state as the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Austria-Hungary and Russia
Austrian officials worried that Russia was adopting a pan-Slavist policy designed to united all SlavonicSlavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
-speaking peoples under the Tsar's leadership. This lead them to pursue an anti-Slavic
Anti-Slavism
Anti-Slavism, also known as Slavophobia, a form of racism or xenophobia, refers to various negative attitudes towards Slavic peoples, most common manifestation being claims of inferiority of Slavic nations with respect to other ethnic groups...
policy domestically and abroad. The major source of tension between Austria-Hungary and Russia was the so-called Eastern Question
Eastern Question
The "Eastern Question", in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire. The expression does not apply to any one particular problem, but instead includes a variety of issues raised during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including...
: what to do about the weakening Ottoman Empire and its rebellious Christian subjects.
In order to counter to Russia's support for independence movements in the Balkans Austria occupied Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
in 1878. This brought Austria into conflict with the Principality of Serbia, an autonomous (de facto independent) state within the Ottoman Empire under Russian influence and protection.
Serbia was elevated to a kingdom
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
in 1882, as the Ottoman Empire further decayed. When the Ottomans attempted to assert control over Bosnia, Austria formally annexed it in 1908, against the protests of Serbia and Russia, during the Bosnian crisis
Bosnian crisis
The Bosnian Crisis of 1908–1909, also known as the Annexation crisis, or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted into public view when on 6 October 1908, Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany and France...
.
The lasting result was bitter enmity between Austria-Hungary on one side and Serbia and Russia on the other. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Serb nationalist of the Black Hand
Black Hand
Unification or Death , unofficially known as the Black Hand , was a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian army in the Kingdom of Serbia, which was founded on September 6, 1901. It was intent on uniting all of the territories containing significant Serb populations annexed by...
secret society, Austria delivered the July Ultimatum
July Ultimatum
The July Crisis was a diplomatic crisis among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914 that led to the First World War...
to Serbia demanding that the Austrian police and military have the right to enter Serbia. Serbia rejected this which led to the Austrian invasion of Serbia
Serbian Campaign (World War I)
The Serbian Campaign was fought from late July 1914, when Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia at the outset of the First World War, until late 1915, when the Macedonian Front was formed...
, the first battle of the First World War. Russia and Austria would fight to the point of exhaustion on the bloody Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
. The war ended with revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in both empires.
Austria and the Soviet Union
The rump Austrian stateFirst Austrian Republic
The Republic of Austria encompasses the period of Austrian history following the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of September 1919, the settlement after the end of World War I which put an end to the Republic of German Austria, continuing up to World War II...
left after the war eventually joined with Nazi Germany in the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, and was therefore part of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
After the war Austria was occupied by the allied armies
Allied-administered Austria
The Allied occupation of Austria lasted from 1945 to 1955. Austria had been regarded by Nazi Germany as a constituent part of the German state, but in 1943 the Allied powers agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that it would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression, and treated as a...
, separated from Germany, and divided into four zones of occupation. The Soviets did not create a separate socialist government in their zone as they did in East Germany. Instead Austria was required to sign the Austrian State Treaty
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers and the Austrian government...
of 1955 under which it pledged total neutrality
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
in the growing Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Austria and the Russian Federation
In May 2007, the President of Russia Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
paid a state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to Austria. In 2001, shortly before Putin’s arrival to a meeting in Vienna, the Russian ambassador to Austria is reported to have stated that any attempt by Austria to join NATO would be seen as a violation of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
.
Suspected Russian state activities in Austria
According to the report Gazprom's European Web, Austria has long been a favorite country for Soviet (now Russian) commerce, banking, and espionage activities. Austrian police sources have stated that the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) maintains its largest European station in Vienna.The fact that Austrian financial companies are not required to disclose owners, combined with tendency to turn blind eye to suspicious transfers, has helped to make Austria a center for Russian financial operations.
In 2003 SVR agent Vladimir Alganov
Vladimir Alganov
Vladimir Alganov is a Russian spy. He was Soviet KGB officer in Warsaw, Poland in the 1980s and Russian SVR officer in the same city in the 1990s.In 1996, Poland's Prime Minister Józef Oleksy resigned because of his links to Alganov....
was caught in Vienna discussing bribes Russian spies had paid to top Polish officials.
When Putin came to power, Vienna became the hub for numerous Gazprom-connected companies, such as GWH, Centrex Group, CentraGas Holding, Zangas, Centrex Energy Italian Gas Holding AG, Central Energy Italian Gas Holding AG, GroupDF, Ostchem Holdings, Deg Handles, Ukrinvest Holdings, and Citel AG. According to Kupchinsky, it has strengthened Gazprom's position in the Austrian market
Russia in the European energy sector
Russia has a significant role in the European energy sector as the largest exporter of oil and natural gas to the European Union. In 2007, the European Union imported from Russia 185 million tonnes of crude oil, which accounted for 32.6% of total oil import, and 100.7 million tonnes of...
, in addition to giving it higher access to government officials.
Assassination of Umar Israilov in Vienna
Prominent Chechen activist Umar IsrailovUmar Israilov
Umar S. Israilov was a former bodyguard of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov who became a critic of the Chechen regime...
, who had filed a complaint to the European court of human rights and was just about to tell his story to the New York Times, was assassinated in Vienna in 2009. Austrian police and others suspected the Kremlin. Oleg Orlov, the director of Moscow's Memorial Human Rights Centre
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
, said "We are deeply alarmed about what appears to be another politically motivated killing of a critic of high-level Russian government officials. ... In light of the brutal retaliation inflicted on those who speak out on abuses in Chechnya, Israilov's actions were particularly courageous, and his killers and those behind them need to be promptly held to account". Related to the case might be murders of human rights lawyer Anastasia Baburova and journalist Anastasia Baburova - both were interested in Israilov's case.
See also
- Embassy of Austria in MoscowEmbassy of Austria in MoscowThe Embassy of Austria in Moscow is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Austria to the Russian Federation. It is located at 1 Starokonyushenny Lane in the Khamovniki District of Moscow...
- Embassy of Russia in ViennaEmbassy of Russia in ViennaThe Embassy of Russia in Vienna is the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Austria. The chancery is located at Reisnerstraße 45-47 in the Landstraße district of Vienna.- History of the chancery :...
- Russians in AustriaRussians in AustriaThere are 5,500 people of Russian origin living in Austria. Mostly in Vienna and Salzburg.There have been a Russian community in Vienna since the 17th century. The first Russians came in Austria for business and educational reasons. In the 1920s, the community grew after the Russian Civil War...
- Internationalization of the Danube RiverInternationalization of the Danube RiverThe Danube River has been a trade waterway for centuries, but with the rise of international borders and the jealousies of national states, commerce and shipping has often been hampered for narrow reasons. In addition, natural features of the river, most notably the sanding of the delta, has often...