General. Political Cooperation.
The first contact between Russia and Austria dates back to the late 15th century when Grand Prince Ivan III and Emperor Maximilian sent embassies to each other's countries. Association with Austria's court became regular during the reign of Peter the Great who in 1698 led the Russian diplomatic mission called the Grand Embassy to Vienna and had a meeting with Kaiser Leopold I.
The USSR and the first Republic of Austria established diplomatic relations in February 1924; in March 1938, after Nazi Germany annexed Austria, relations were severed. In October 1945, diplomatic relations were restored at the level of plenipotentiary missions which in 1953 were transformed into embassies.
Relations between the Russian Federation and Austria have shown steady progress, with both countries being committed to maintaining high-level political contact.
On February 8-10, 2001, the then-President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit Austria and on May 23 and 24, 2007 he was in the country on an official visit. Austria's Federal President Thomas Klestil made an official visit to Russia on June 22-24, 2001 and a private visit on February 14 and 15, 2004. On July 10, 2004, Putin, who had travelled to Vienna for Klestil's funeral, met with Austrian President Heinz Fischer. On May 9, 2005, Fischer attended the 60th Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. President Dmitry Medvedev and Heinz Fischer first met in New York on September 23, 2009.
In January 2002 and in December 2005, Austria's Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel made working visits to Russia. In May 2003, he attended international events in St Petersburg to mark the city's 300th anniversary.
The contractual basis of Russian-Austrian relations embraces the Soviet-era agreements, which have been adjusted to new circumstances, and the agreements signed after 1991. At present, agreements on cooperation in combating crime, on mutual aid in the event of natural and man-made disasters and on scientific and technical cooperation are being drafted. Talks are underway to sign an inter-governmental agreement between Russia and Austria on cooperation on the South Stream gas project.
Commercial, Economic and Investment Cooperation.
In 2008, according to Russian customs statistics, trade between the two countries reached $5.418 billion (Russian exports stood at $2.3 billion and Russian imports at $3.11 billion). Due to the unfavourable situation in world markets from January to August 2009, trade was down 41% from the same period a year earlier, with Russian exports and imports declining in about equal proportions.
Austria ranks twelfth among countries seen as key investors in the Russian economy. Austria invested $3.9 billion in Russia in 2008 and $3.67 billion in the first half of 2009.
More than 1,200 Austrian firms do business in the Russian market, with 150 of them holding representative offices in the Russian Federation. About 500 firms are joint ventures with Austrian businesses. Major Austrian investors include Siemens VAI (mechanical engineering), Mondi, Kronospan and Egger (pulp-and-paper and woodworking industries), Wienerberger (building materials maker) and Strabag (construction). Major investment projects are also being implemented in the manufacture of car engines and components, in transport and energy sectors.
In trade, Russia and Austria accord most favoured nation treatment to each other under the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT). Austria supports Russia's intention to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
A Mixed Russian-Austrian Inter-governmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation set up in 1994 is co-chaired by Russia's Minister of Education and Science, Andrei Fursenko, and Austria's Federal Minister of the Economy, Family and Youth, Reinhold Mitterlehner. The previous regular session of the commission was held in Vienna on March 14, 2008 and the next one is scheduled for spring 2010.
In 2008, a Russian-Austrian Business Council was established. The idea of creating the council was put forward at a meeting of Russian and Austrian businessmen which was timed to coincide with President Putin's official visit to Austria in May 2007. The council has two co-chairmen: Vladimir Artyakov, the governor of the Samara Region, and Helmut List, the President of AVL LIST GmbH.
Humanitarian and Cultural Cooperation
In 2002-2005, Austria made payments to the Russian nationals who were forced to work on Austrian territory during World War II (the relevant inter-governmental agreement was signed in November 2000). By the end of 2005, 12,257 people had received compensation, the total sum of which was 25.9 million euros. Voluntary payments to the former forced labourers, under the programme provided for in the law On Austrian Reconciliation Foundation, have been made in full.
In 2002, in compliance with the Russian law On the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Political Repression dated October 18, 1991, the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office completed the rehabilitation of Austrian nationals arbitrarily repressed by the Soviet security service. More than 1,000 applications have been considered and more than 660 people rehabilitated.
In December 2008, the Joint Commission of Russian and Austrian Historians was created on the initiative of the Russian and Austrian academies of science to conduct in-depth research into Russian (Soviet)-Austrian relations in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Traditionally, cultural ties are of great importance to both countries. An inter-governmental agreement on cultural cooperation signed in 1998 has facilitated the implementation of a number of targeted programmes in the fields of culture and art. It also helps maintain connections between theatres, musicians, museums, libraries and arts schools, it develops and improves direct contact between Russian and Austrian cities and regions.
In November 2006, in a move to satisfy the claim put in by the Austrian government for valuables relocated to the Soviet Union from German territory during the war, the Russian Government adopted a resolution to return a portion of the Austrian archives. During Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Vienna on June 24, 2009, the documents were handed over to Austria.