Karin Kneissl says she is moving to Russia to lead a thinktank she set up with St Petersburg University
    • MrMakabar@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
      332·
      1 year ago

      After WW2 Stalin wanted to get Germany. So he proposed to allow a united Germany, if it would be neutral. Obviously the plan was to have a neutral Germany under Stalins rule, but that goes without saying. However he needed West Germany to agree to this. So he allowed Austria, which was in a similar situation, to unite as a real democracy, as long as they stay neutral. Naturally he also made sure there are a lot of Soviet spies in Austria and Austria got some nice deals with the Soviets.

      Nowadays Austria still profits of these connections to Russia and the political leadership class was never fully replaced as with the Communist countries further east. So the FBS had an easy time to just keep up influence. Then Austria moved to the right. Now they also have a facist party, which was in government for years and a bunch of close Russia connections going all the way to Ibiza.

        • Microw@lemm.eeEnglish
          7·
          1 year ago

          It’s not as simple as saying “Austria is a Russian agent”. Our current government will always stand with the EU in the end, but a lot of influential people with russian ties are constantly telling them to keep the relations with Russia good.

          Now, if the polls hold true and FPÖ gets into government again… then Austria will be governed by Russian agents for sure.

            • Microw@lemm.eeEnglish
              4·
              1 year ago

              Well, it looks like our security agency who is in Charge of protecting the constitution has reported the youth wing of the far right party to the authorities for the first time ever, because of their open nazi symbolism. They might actually do something against the party for the first time ever.

    • cmeio@lemmy.worldEnglish
      311·
      1 year ago

      She was from the far right governmental party that is allied with Putins party - so no surprise at all. Most far right parties in Europe love Putin - Fascist love Fascits. Just sad how much support they have here…

        • Gamey@feddit.deEnglish
          5·
          1 year ago

          Anti human seems more fitting, it’s a nazi party, they just can’t show certain stuff because it’s not allowed to do so here!

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    In 2018, Karin Kneissl, then foreign minister of neutral Austria, made headlines when she invited Putin to her wedding.

    It drew widespread criticism, coming just months after some EU countries – excluding Austria – expelled scores of Russian diplomats in response to the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

    A highly controversial figure in her own country, Kneissl moved to France in September 2020 and became a guest columnist for Russia Today, which is widely viewed as a propaganda arm of the Kremlin.

    But Lebanon was only a temporary solution, she said, and she travelled to Russia every six weeks for work, where she is now setting up a thinktank.

    In June, Kneissl unveiled the Gorki centre – a thinktank attached to St Petersburg university to operate under her leadership.

    The thinktank was set up to “help define the policies for the Russian Federation” with a focus on the Near and Middle East.

    The original article contains 367 words, the summary contains 155 words. Saved 58%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

    • Microw@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Kneissl is an exceptional case of a Putinite, it was surprising even back then that the far right made her foreign minister.