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Egisto Ott
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. Austria's role in espionage, particularly as a base for Russian intelligence operations, has been noted by several media outlets. ''Washington Post'' has called Vienna "a haunt for spies", while NBC stated it is "widely regarded as the spying capital of the world". BBC has referred to it as a "centre for espionage". ''New Statesman'' has described Austria as "Russia's tunnel into the heart of Europe" and that Austria is a "compromised state", with the country's attachment to neutrality leading it to cultivate "obsequious relations with Russian energy and espionage". Because of this, Eastern Europeans have at times referred to Austria as "Russia's Trojan horse in Western Europe". ''F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austrian Neutrality
The Declaration of Neutrality (german: Neutralitätserklärung) was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on 26 October 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament, i.e., as part of the Constitution of Austria. Pursuant to resolution of the Federal Assembly of Parliament following the Austrian State Treaty, Austria declared "its permanent neutrality of its own accord". The second section of this law stated: "In all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory." History Formally, the declaration was promulgated voluntarily by the Republic of Austria. Politically, it was the direct consequence of the allied occupation by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France between 1945 and 1955, from which the country was freed by the Austrian State Treaty of 15 May the same year. The Soviet Union would not h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GRU (Russian Federation)
The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ции, r=Glavnoje upravlenije General'nogo shtaba Vooruzhonnykh sil Rossiyskoy Federatsii formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate,( rus, Гла́вное разве́дывательное управле́ние, r=Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye, p=ˈɡlavnəjə rɐzˈvʲɛdɨvətʲɪlʲnəjə ʊprɐˈvlʲenʲɪjə) and still commonly known by its previous abbreviation GRU, rus, ГРУ, p=ɡiˈru is the foreign military intelligence agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The GRU controls the military intelligence service and maintains its own special forces units. Unlike Russia's other security and intelligence agencies—such as the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Federal Security S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RT (TV Network)
RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya (russian: Россия Сегодня) is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing Internet content in Russian, English, Spanish, French, German and Arabic. RT is a brand of TV-Novosti, an autonomous non-profit organization founded by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti in April 2005. During the economic crisis in December 2008, the Russian government, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, included ANO "TV-Novosti" on its list of core organizations of strategic importance to Russia. RT operates as a multilingual service with channels in five languages: the original English-language channel was launched in 2005, the Arabic-language channel in 2007, Spanish in 2009, German in 2014 and French in 2017. RT America (2010–2022), RT UK (2014� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosneft
PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products. The company is controlled by the Russian government through the Rosneftegaz holding company. Its name is a portmanteau of the Russian words (russian: Российская нефть, lit=Russian oil). Rosneft was founded in 1993 as a state enterprise and then incorporated in 1995, acquiring a number of state-controlled gas and oil assets. It became Russia's leading oil company after purchasing assets of the former oil company Yukos at state-run auctions. After acquiring OJSC TNK-BP in 2013, then one of the largest oil companies of Russia, Rosneft became the world's largest publicly traded petroleum company. Rosneft is the third largest Russian company and the second-largest state-controlled company (after Gazprom) in Russ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karin Kneissl
Karin Kneissl (born 18 January 1965) is an Austrian diplomat, journalist and independent politician, having served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2017 and 2019. She is an expert on the Middle East and was a lecturer before assuming the government position she was offered by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Since 2020 she has been working as a blogger for Russia Today, between June 2021 and May 2022 she was a member of the supervisory board of Rosneft. Life and career Born in Vienna, Kneissl spent part of her childhood in Amman, where her father worked as a pilot for King Hussein of Jordan and also was involved in developing Royal Jordanian Airlines. In her youth and student days Kneissl also was active in Amnesty International and supported environmental and human rights organizations worldwide. Kneissl studied law and oriental languages at the University of Vienna between 1983 and 1987. After graduating, she studied International relations at the Hebrew University of Jerus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Railways
Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services. The company was established on 18 September 2003, when a decree was passed to separate the upkeep and operation of the railways from the . RZhD is based in Moscow at Novaya Basmannaya str., 2. The operating units of the central part of the staff are at Kalanchevskaya str., 35. Railways in Crimea are controlled by Crimea Railway, a separate company. History Background and 2003 reform After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation inherited 17 of the 32 regions of the former Soviet Railways (SZD). By 1998, total freight traffic was half the 1991 figure. Government investment in the railway system was greatly curtailed, and passenger fares we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lukoil
The PJSC Lukoil Oil Company ( stylized as LUKOIL or ЛУКОЙЛ in Cyrillic script) is a Russian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Moscow, specializing in the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, and electricity. It was formed in 1991 when three state-run, western Siberian companies named after the respective town in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug that each was based in, Langepasneftegaz, Urayneftegaz, and Kogalymneftegaz, merged. Its name is the combination of the acronym LUK (initials of the oil-producing cities of Langepas, Uray, Kogalym) and the English word "oil". Lukoil is the second largest company in Russia after Gazprom, and the country's largest non-state enterprise in terms of revenue, with ₽4,744 billion in 2018. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Lukoil was ranked as the 99th-largest public company in the world. Internationally, it is one of the largest global producers of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Kern
Christian Kern (; born 4 January 1966) is an Austrian businessman and former politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 17 May 2016 to 18 December 2017 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 25 June 2016 to 25 September 2018. A business journalist by profession, the member of Austria's Social Democratic Party served as spokesman of the SPÖ's parliamentary group leader in the mid-1990s, before he became a senior manager in Austria's leading electricity company Verbund AG. In 2010, Kern was appointed CEO of the state-owned Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), chairing the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) from 2014 onwards. Following the resignation of Werner Faymann amidst the presidential election, the governing Social Democrats nominated Kern for the office of chancellor. Kern was sworn in as Chancellor of Austria on 17 May 2016, vowing to continue the " Grand coalition" with the People's Party (ÖVP), but promising a "New Deal" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in contemporary Austrian politics, his governments were also highly controversial from the beginning, starting with the fact that he formed a coalition government with Jörg Haider's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) on both occasions. In 2011, he retired from being an active member of parliament due to a multitude of charges of corruption against members of his governments. Early life, education, and start in politics Born in Vienna, Schüssel attended that city's '' Schottengymnasium'', a well known Roman Catholic '' gymnasium'' for boys, where he took his ''Matura'' exams in 1963. He went on to study at the University of Vienna, receiving a doctorate in law in 1968. Schüssel was secretary of the parliamentary group of the Austrian People's P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Party Of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Austrian far-right leader Norbert Hofer resigns as FPÖ chief"'' Deutsche Welle'' It is the third largest of five parties in the National Council, with 30 of the 183 seats, and won 16.2% of votes cast in the 2019 legislative election. It is represented in all nine state legislatures, and a member of two state cabinets (both operating under the Proporz system). On a European level, the FPÖ is a founding member of the Identity and Democracy Party and its three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sit with the Identity and Democracy (ID) group. The FPÖ was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents (VdU), representing pan-Germanists and national liberals opposed to socialism, represented by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annexation Of Crimea By The Russian Federation
In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas .... This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The Revolution of Dignity, events in Kyiv that ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February 2014 sparked pro-Russian Timeline of the 2014 Crimean crisis#February 23, demonstrations as of 23 February against the (prospected) First Yatsenyuk government, new Ukrainian government. At the same time Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed Ukrainian events with security service chiefs remarking that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia". On 27 February, Little green men (Russo-Ukraini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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