Between curtsey and genuflection
Year: 2019

For historical reasons, Austria has a special relationship with Russia. From 1945 to 1955, parts of eastern Austria and the capital Vienna belonged to the Soviet zone of occupation. Since the State Treaty of 1955, politicians of all stripes have emphasised the fact that Austria has strong ties to Moscow, and that it therefore acts as a bridge between East and West. The current OVP-FPO coalition government also stresses the good relationship with Russia. The head of the FPO, Vice-Chancellor Heinz