On May 15, 1955, an agreement was signed in Vienna on the restoration of independent and democratic Austria, which reanimated its statehood, which was lost as a result of the Anschluss in 1938. At the same time, the Austrian political leadership has chosen a neutral and non-aligned status for the country.

Troubled years

Independent Austria arose in October - November 1918 as a result of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which became one of the countries that lost the First World War.

“Following the war, Austria was punished territorially. She even lost a part of her ancestral lands, ”Vladimir Schweitzer, head of the department of social and political studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RT in an interview.

Austria has become a small country, whose population did not exceed 6.7 million people. In addition, official Vienna was obliged to pay reparations established by a special commission. The global crisis of 1929 negatively affected its economy. But already in the 1930s, she began to draw closer to Germany.

“With the advent of Adolf Hitler in Germany, pro-Nazi sentiments among the Austrian population intensified, although there were parties in the country that were alien to this ideology, in particular, social democratic,” Schweitzer noted.

On March 12, 1938, Hitler troops entered Austria. Then, on the central square of Vienna, the Anschluss was announced - the accession of Austria to the Nazi Reich.

The population of Austria met the annexation ambiguously. About 700 thousand inhabitants of the country joined the NSDAP. At the same time, about 120 thousand Austrian citizens died as a result of Nazi repression, many ended up in concentration camps and prisons.

“Austria was not only the first victim of Hitler’s aggression, but also its participant, an integral part of the Reich,” said Igor Maksimychev, leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT.

Nevertheless, the leadership of the Anti-Hitler coalition distinguished Austria from the territories belonging to the Nazi Reich. In the Moscow Declaration of October 30, 1943, she was called the "first victim" of Hitlerism.

  • Soviet troops are fighting for the liberation of Vienna from the German invaders
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  • © Semen Raskin

On March 16, 1945, the Vienna offensive operation of Soviet troops began. The Nazis turned Vienna into a real fortress. At the same time, the command of the Red Army sought to preserve the city as much as possible and used, as far as possible, not tanks and artillery, but infantry and paratroopers during the assault. On April 13, 1945, the city was completely cleared of the Nazis, and the Vienna offensive operation ended on April 15.

Restoration of sovereignty

After the liberation of Vienna, the Soviet authorities transferred 45 thousand tons of grain, 4 thousand tons of meat, a ton of fats, 2.7 thousand tons of sugar, 1.8 tons of salt, 225 tons of coffee to the city population.

Already in April 1945, the Soviet side, despite the dissatisfaction of the Western allies, helped Austria to start the process of creating the Provisional Government, which included representatives of the country's leading parties. He was led by the Social Democrat Karl Renner, who later became the Federal President of Austria.

  • Austrian girl and Soviet officer dance on the streets of Vienna after liberation
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  • © Anatoly Grigoriev

The country itself was divided into four zones of occupation: Soviet, American, British and French. In July 1945, the Allied Commission for Austria was created.

The future of Austria has been the subject of controversy between the allies of the anti-Hitler coalition. In Western countries, projects arose of depriving the country of its sovereign status and its inclusion in a kind of "confederation". After the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance, Western powers also tried to initiate separate negotiations on the inclusion of Austria in NATO.

“1945-1955 - this was the path to the independence of Austria. The state agreement on the restoration of its sovereignty was developed and signed thanks to the efforts of the USSR, ”said Vladimir Schweitzer.

On April 12-15, 1955, in Moscow, on the initiative of the USSR government, Soviet-Austrian negotiations were held related to key issues of restoring Austrian independence. In the Moscow memorandum, Austria made a commitment to pursue a policy of permanent neutrality.

According to Vladimir Schweitzer, a positive moment for the Central European country was the consent of the Soviet leadership to abandon cash reparations in favor of commodity reparations.

On May 15, 1955, a State Treaty on the restoration of independent and democratic Austria between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France on the one hand, and Austria on the other, was signed in Vienna.

The document guaranteed its independence and sovereignty, the inviolability of the borders of Austria, the existence of a democratic government in it, and the observance of the rights of national minorities. Separately, it stipulated issues of denazification and the impossibility of anschluss. The members of the Anti-Hitler coalition confirmed their intention to withdraw their troops from Austria and stipulated in the document all the main issues of economic relations with official Vienna. Former German assets were transferred to Austria and, for separate compensation, former Soviet enterprises.

The document entered into force on July 27, 1955, and on October 25, foreign troops left Austria.

  • After the signing of the State Treaty on the Restoration of Independent and Democratic Austria
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  • © Bettmann

“After the conclusion of the state treaty with Austria, the Soviet Union did not conceal its readiness to consider in a similar vein a more complex problem - the signing of a peace treaty with Germany. But, seeking to shift the global balance of power in his favor, the West persistently insisted that a united Germany be in NATO, which delayed the emergence of a single German state for 35 years. And when it appeared and fully connected to NATO, it led to the “rehabilitation” of the Cold War, ”Igor Maksimychev emphasized.

“Sovereign and neutral”

On October 26, 1955, the Austrian parliament passed a law of permanent neutrality. In December, he was officially recognized as a member of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. On December 14, 1955, Austria joined the UN. Soon, a number of major international agreements were signed between Moscow and Vienna, regulating trade, shipping, consular relations and cultural exchange.

“Sovereign and neutral Austria is a very good result of the diplomatic efforts of the USSR. A state that aroused universal sympathy arose in the center of the continent and made an important contribution to the development of pan-European cooperation, ”said Igor Maksimychev.

According to Fedor Basov, senior researcher at the IMEMO RAS, neutrality has become part of Austria’s political culture and its identity.

“Therefore, Austria has become one of the venues for international negotiations and international organizations: one of the UN residences, the headquarters of the OSCE, IAEA and others. It became a bonus for neutrality, ”the expert explained.

As Vladimir Schweitzer noted, Austrian neutrality has a beneficial effect on the political situation in Central Europe. In addition, it is a prerequisite for maintaining good relations between Vienna and Moscow.

“Take at least a moment on the organization by the Austrian authorities of Vladimir Putin’s congratulations on television for residents of the country on the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazism. The way Austria reacted showed that the USSR was considered there as a country that had a direct bearing on victory. There are no large-scale anti-Russian protests. No one demolishes the monuments, the graves of our soldiers are looked after. Perhaps, of all the EU countries, Russia today has the best relations with Austria, ”believes Vladimir Schweitzer.

In addition, the expert recalled the close economic cooperation between Vienna and Moscow.

“As a member of the EU, Austria is required to comply with a certain sanctions regime. Nevertheless, she always offered her services as an intermediary between Russia and the West, ”the expert explained.

  • October 3, 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Sebastian Kurtz at the opening ceremony of the State Hermitage Museum and the Vienna Museum of Art History “Imperial Capitals: St. Petersburg - Vienna. Masterpieces of museum collections »
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  • © Alexey Nikolsky

Fyodor Basov explained that the special relationship between Moscow and Vienna can also be explained by the conservative values ​​existing in Austria. According to him, in Austrian politics there is a reasonable ratio of conservatism and pragmatism.

“As we see, the state of the Western world can safely develop and not worry about its own security, even if it refuses to join NATO, unfriendly rhetoric and potentially aggressive plans regarding Moscow. All this can be observed in the situation with Austria, ”Igor Maksimychev summarized.