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 I (r. 1682–1725) but there were contacts between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Tsardom of Russia the most known of all was the Embassy conducted by Sigismund von 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.
When Peter the Great was proclaimed emperor in 1721, his and his successors' recognition of the imperial title was delayed by the Habsburgs, the other claimant successors of the Roman Empire, until 1742, during the War of the Austrian Succession. 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 (1788-1791) and the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)). Both countries participated in the first and third Partitions of Poland.
After 1815 Austria's policy as set by Klemens von Metternich was based on a realistic acceptance of Russia's political predominance in Moldavia and Wallachia. He obtained from Tsar Nicholas I some economic concessions during the 1830s. The two powers began to co-operate, with the mutual aim of preserving the status quo.[1]
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. Although it was Russia that was punished by the Treaty of Paris, in the long run it was Austria that lost the most from the Crimean War despite having barely taken part in it. Having abandoned its alliance with Russia, Austria was diplomatically isolated following the war. Russia subsequently stood aside as Austria was evicted from the Italian and German states. That Russian neutrality towards its former ally clearly contributed to Austrian defeat in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War and its loss of influence in most German-speaking lands. The Habsburgs therefore gave in to Hungarian demands for autonomy and refounded their state as the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
France, after the Franco-Prussian War and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, was fervently hostile to Germany, and made an alliance with Russia. The great Slavic empire competed with the newly renamed Austria-Hungary for an increased role in the Balkans at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, and the foundations were in place for creating the diplomatic alliances that would lead to World War I.
Austria-Hungary and Russian Empire
Austrian officials worried that Russia was adopting a pan-Slavist policy designed to unite all Slavonic-speaking peoples under the Tsar's leadership. This led 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.
The visit to Saint Petersburg of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph and his conference with Nicholas II of Russia in 1897 heralded a secret agreement between the two empires to honor and seek to maintain the status quo in the Balkans, which was in line with Vienna's attempts to forestall an emergence of a large Slavic state in the region.[2][3] In 1903 the pro-Austrian King Alexander I of Serbia was assassinated in a coup. The new King Peter I of Serbia was pro-Russian and relations between Serbia and Austria-Hungary and therefore also with Russia, deteriorated. Austria-Hungary's formal annexation of the Bosnia Vilayet in 1908 dismayed Russia as well as all the other Great Powers and Austria-Hungary's Balkan neighbours, who viewed the action as a violation of the Treaty of Berlin. While Russia eventually backed down, relations between the two empires were permanently damaged. The lasting result was bitter enmity between Austria-Hungary on one side and Serbia and Russia on the other.
Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Serb nationalists of the Black Hand secret society on 28 June 1914, Austria delivered the July Ultimatum to Serbia demanding the right for Austrian police and military to enter Serbia. Serbia rejected the ultimatum and on 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declaredwar on Serbia. On August 6, the Emperor Franz Joseph signed the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Russia, who had since 1 August been at war with Germany, the ally of Austria-Hungary. Russia and Austria-Hungary would fight to the point of exhaustion on the bloody Eastern Front. The war ended with the overthrow of monarchy in both countries, as well as in Germany, and the dissolution of their empires.
Following the Bolshevik revolution in November 1917, the new Russian government began diplomatic efforts to terminate the war with the Central Powers, including Austria-Hungary. These efforts led to the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. Diplomatic relations between Austria and the Soviet Union were established on February 21, 1924[4] and the former Russian Imperial embassy′s building was handed over to the Soviets.[5]
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 Cold War confrontation between the Soviet Union and the U.S.-led West. The treaty also mandates that Austria never seek to unify with other German-speaking nations, and perpetual maintenance of the Soviet War Memorial in Vienna.
In 1968, Austria became the first Western European country to begin imports of natural gas from the Soviet Union. Subsequently, Europe's main gas hub was set up at Baumgarten an der March on Austria's eastern border with Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia.[6]
Republic of Austria and Russian Federation (since 1991)
Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the Russian Federation, the successor state to the Soviet Union, went on maintaining a close relationship with 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 in the 2000s stated that the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) maintained its largest European station in Vienna.[7]
In 2003, SVR agent Vladimir Alganov was caught in Vienna discussing bribes Russian spies had paid to senior Polish officials.[8][9][10]
The former bodyguard of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and prominent critic of the Chechen government, Umar Israilov, who had filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights and was about to tell his story to The New York Times, was assassinated in a street of Vienna in January 2009. 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 Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova - both were interested in Israilov's case.[11][12]
Thanks to its neutral status, Austria continued to be the venue for spy exchanges as was the case in 2010, when the U.S. and Russia swapped four imprisoned U.S. and UK intelligence assets, who had been convicted in Russia, for 10 Russian agents caught and convicted in the U.S., on the tarmac of Vienna International Airport.
Austria has sought to maintain good relations and close economic cooperation with Russia even after the drastic deterioration of Russia's relationship with the West following the 2014 Ukraine crisis. In December 2016, the FPÖ leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, announced that his party had signed what he called a cooperation agreement with United Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s party.[13] Following the national election in October 2017, the FPÖ entered government as a junior partner of the winner ÖVP headed by Sebastian Kurz. In June 2018, in Vienna at a joint press conference, the Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz stated that he hoped for a gradual rapprochement between the European Union and Russia. However, he mentioned that Austria supports the decisions of Brussels on sanctions against Russia.[14]
Russian President Putin and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Moscow in February 2018
Austria was the first foreign country that Russian president Vladimir Putin visited officially in June 2018 following his reelection for the fourth term as president of Russia.[17] In the course of Putin's visit, the CEOs of OMV and Gazprom signed an agreement to extend Russian gas supplies to Austria until 2040, with both Putin and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in attendance.[6] The signing occurred at a time when the two countries were marking 50 years of Soviet/Russian gas supplies to Austria.[6]
On 9 November 2018, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that a 70-year-old retired army colonel was believed to have spied for Russia for about thirty years.[18] The officer in question, who was exposed thanks to a tip-off from the UK government, was said to have been engaged in disclosing state secrets to Russia's GRU from 1992 until September 2018.[19][20] Two days later, Kronen Zeitung reported that for more than a year, Austria's State Prosecution Office Against White Collar Crime and Corruption (Korruptionsstaatsanwaltschaft) had been investigating an employee of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT) who was suspected of spying for Russia.[21] As a result, Austrian foreign ministerKarin Kneissl cancelled her visit to Russia that had been slated for early December.[18] Nevertheless, Chancellor Kurz, citing Austria's neutrality, said no "unilateral action" would be taken against Russia.[22] Professor Gerhard Mangott of University of Innsbruck commented for the BBC by saying he was surprised the incident had been made public as it is business as usual and a long-standing tradition for Austrian citizens to spy for foreign powers.[23] In early July 2019, an Austrian court extended pre-trial detention of the suspected retired army colonel until 26 August.[24] On 25 July 2019, Austria's Ministry of the Interior said that the suspected colonel's handler had been a Moscow-born GRU officer Igor Egorovich Zaytsev, a Russian national, for whom an international arrest warrant had been issued.[25][26] In June 2020, the colonel, still unnamed, was freed upon being convicted of spying for GRU for more than 25 years.[27]
In May 2019, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Van der Bellen, the President of Austria, on an official visit to Russia, addressed the constituent meeting of the Sochi Dialogue Civil Society Forum.[28] Following the talks with his Russian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen told the press conference that Austria had no intention to quit the Nord Stream 2 project, the mounting U.S. sanctions notwithstanding.[29][30]
In August 2020, Austria expelled a Russian diplomat following a report accusing him of being involved in industrial espionage.[31] The expulsion was said to be a first in Austria's relations with Russia.[32] The Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that the diplomat's illicit activities were exposed after an Austrian who worked in a technology company confessed he had carried out espionage for years on behalf of the Russian, who was his intelligence handler.[31]
On 11 April 2022, Austrian Chancellor Nehammer was the first European leader to visit Vladimir Putin since the invasion to discuss an end of the war.[35]
Also in April 2022, Austria expelled four Russian diplomats for behaviour incompatible with their diplomatic status – a reason often invoked in spying cases –, joining a group of European Union countries that took similar action the same week; unlike those other EU countries, Austria's government did not say the move was because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[36] In February 2023, Austria expelled another four Russian diplomats for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements; this brought to nine the number of Russian diplomats Austria has expelled since 2020.[37]
Whilst Austria has publicly criticised the Russian actions in Ukraine, commercial ties in 2023, between the two countries, remain fairly intact, especially in the energy and finance sectors, with two thirds of Austrian companies operating in Russia, such as Raiffeisenbank (Russia) and Red Bull, planning on staying there and OMV continuing to import gas from Russia.[38]
Trade
In 2021 Russia exported $631m of goods to Austria with crude oil being the main item. Austria exported $2.28 billion of goods with medical products being the top item. Between 1995 and 2021 Russian exports have risen by an average of 1.57% p.a. with Austrian exports rising at 4.07% p.a. on average.[39]
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consisted of two sovereign states with a single monarch who was titled both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Austria-Hungary constituted the last phase in the constitutional evolution of the Habsburg monarchy: it was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War and was dissolved shortly after Hungary terminated the union with Austria on 31 October 1918.
Pan-Slavism, a movement that took shape in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with promoting integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled the South Slavs for centuries. These were mainly the Byzantine Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Venice.
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom around the year 1000; his family led the monarchy for 300 years. By the 12th century, the kingdom became a European power.
Germany–Russia relations display cyclical patterns, moving back and forth from cooperation and alliance to strain and to total warfare. Historian John Wheeler-Bennett says that since the 1740s:
Foreign relations of Serbia are formulated and executed by the Government of Serbia through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Serbia established diplomatic relations with most world nations – 188 states in total – starting with the United Kingdom (1837) and ending most recently with Guyana (2024). Serbia has friendly relations with following neighboring countries: Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, and Hungary. It maintains colder, more tense relations with Albania and Croatia and to a lesser degree with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria due to historic nation-building conflict and differing political ideologies.
The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th to the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, The Holy Roman Empire, and Habsburg Spain. The wars were dominated by land campaigns in Hungary, including Transylvania and Vojvodina, Croatia, and central Serbia.
Russia–United Kingdom relations, also Anglo-Russian relations, are the bilateral relations between Russia and the United Kingdom. Formal ties between the nations started in 1553. Russia and Britain became allies against Napoleon in the early-19th century. They were enemies in the Crimean War of the 1850s, and rivals in the Great Game for control of central Asia in the latter half of the 19th century. They allied again in World Wars I and II, although the Russian Revolution of 1917 strained relations. The two countries again became enemies during the Cold War (1947–1989). Russia's business tycoons developed strong ties with London financial institutions in the 1990s after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, relations became very tense after the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against Russia. It was subsequently added to Russia's list of "unfriendly countries".
The U.S. Embassy in Austria is located in Vienna. Since 2023, the United States Ambassador to Austria is Victoria Reggie Kennedy. The Austrian Embassy in the U.S. is located in Washington, D.C.
Bulgaria–Russia relations are the diplomatic relations between the countries of Bulgaria and Russia.
Montenegro–Russia relations are foreign relations between Montenegro and Russia. Montenegro has an embassy in Moscow and Russia has an embassy in Podgorica.
Russia–Serbia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia. The countries established official diplomatic relations as the Russian Empire and Principality of Serbia in 1816. Russia has an honorary consulate and embassy in Belgrade, and a liaison office to UNMIK, the capital of the disputed territory of Kosovo. Serbia has an embassy in Moscow, an honorary consulate in St. Petersburg and has announced to open a consulate-general in Yekaterinburg.
Hungary–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Hungary and Russia. Hungary has an embassy in Moscow and two consulate-generals. Russia has an embassy in Budapest and a consulate-general in Debrecen. Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Czech Republic–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. Relations have substantially deteriorated in recent years due to events such as the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russian sabotage of Czech ammunition depot in Vrbětice in 2014, poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018 and Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Austrians and Turks have had significantly long relations with each other dating back centuries, from the modern-day Austria and Turkey to their predecessor states, the Habsburg Empire and Ottoman Empire respectively. Having fought a number of wars, they fought as allies during the First World War before their empires simultaneously dissolved due to their defeats.
Foreign relations exist between Austria and Serbia and their predecessor states. Austria has an embassy in Belgrade. Serbia has an embassy in Vienna and a general consulate in Salzburg. Austria is a European Union member and Serbia is a European Union candidate.
A bilateral relationship exists between Croatia and Austria. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on January 15, 1992, following Croatia's independence from SFR Yugoslavia.
Bilateral foreign relations exist between Austria and Israel. The fact that Adolf Hitler and other perpetrators of The Holocaust came from Austria gives the relationship between the two countries a special relevance. At the same time, the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, also lived in Austria-Hungary and many Israelis are descendants of Austrian Jews. After the founding of Israel, the Second Austrian Republic recognized the Jewish state of Israel shortly after its founding in 1949, before official diplomatic relations were established in 1956. In the 1970s, Bruno Kreisky sought a role as mediator in the Middle East conflict and called for a Palestinian state, which caused disputes with the Israelis. Relations were later strained by the Waldheim affair in the 1980s and the first FPÖ government participation in 2000. After that, the two countries became close allies and established friendly relations. In 2023, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg announced “we have entered into a strategic, extremely close relationship with Israel that can no longer be undone”. Within the EU, Austria is considered one of the most pro-Israeli countries.
North Macedonia–Russia relations are bilateral relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Russian Federation. North Macedonia has an embassy in Moscow and a consulate in St. Petersburg, while Russia has an embassy in Skopje and consulates in Bitola and Ohrid. Chargé d'Affaires of North Macedonia in Moscow is Olivera Čauševska-Dimovska, while the Russian ambassador in Skopje is Sergey Bazdnikin.
There has for years been a controversial relationship between Austria and Russian intelligence. Due to domestic policies and a history of neutrality, Austria has for decades been a center for intelligence activities in Europe. Together with Belgium, it has been considered a hub for Russian intelligence.
References
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Cook, Kathrine Schach. "Russia, Austria, and the Question of Italy, 1859–1862." International History Review 2.4 (1980): 542–565. online
De Madariaga, Isabel. "The secret Austro-Russian treaty of 1781." Slavonic and East European Review 38.90 (1959): 114–145. online
Dwyer, Philip G. "Self-interest versus the common cause: Austria, Prussia and Russia against Napoleon." Journal of Strategic Studies 31.4 (2008): 605–632.
Kappeler, Andreas, and J. Besters-Dilger. "The politics of history in contemporary Ukraine: Russia, Poland, Austria, and Europe." in Ukraine on its way to Europe: Interim results of the orange revolution ed by Juliane Besters-Dilger (Peter Lang Frankfurt aM, 2009) pp. 217–232.
Korff, Sergeĭ Aleksandrovich. Russia's Foreign Relations during the last half century (Macmillan, 1922) online.
McHugh, James T. "Last of the enlightened despots: A comparison of President Mikhail Gorbachev and Emperor Joseph II." Social Science Journal 32.1 (1995): 69–85. online
Mayer, Matthew Z. "The Price for Austria's Security: Part I—Joseph II, the Russian Alliance, and the Ottoman War, 1787–1789." International History Review 26.2 (2004): 257–299. online
Menning, Bruce. "Russian Military Intelligence, July 1914: What St. Petersburg Perceived and Why It Mattered." Historian 77.2 (2015): 213–268.
Šedivýý, Miroslav. "From Hostility to Cooperation? Austria, Russia and the Danubian Principalities 1829––40." Slavonic & East European Review 89.4 (2011): 630-661 online.
Williamson, Samuel R. Austria-Hungary and the origins of the First World War (Macmillan International Higher Education, 1990).
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