In today's #vatnik soup I'm going to talk about Austria. Countries like Serbia and Hungary often pop up in conversations about Russia and Putin apologists, but when it comes to Russian espionage and intelligence activities, Austria, along with Belgium, comes on top.
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In the 1950s Austria changed their laws so, that espionage is only a crime when its directed against Austria. This combined with the fact Austria has several prominent NGO's and international organizations makes it an attractive destination for all kinds espionage.
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For example, Vienna is home to the OSCE, the Organization for Security and Co-operative in Europe and has one of the headquarters of the UN.
Founder of the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies, Siegfried Beer has said that in Austria...
3/17
... "Espionage was a business. It still is. It brings a lot of people with a lot of money and a lot of support into the country."
He has estimated that there are around 7000 spies who masquerade as diplomats in Austria.
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Austria was also the first European country to import Soviet gas and after 1968 it became a large hub for delivering gas to Italy, Germany and France. Before the 2022 invasion, 80% of Austria's natural gas came from Russia.
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This made the Austrian energy sector deeply entwined and dependent on Russia, and at the end of 2021 Russian companies had assets worth of 25,5 billion USD in Austria. Russia was actually the second largest investor in Austria, right after Germany.
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Austria was the first Western country to allow Putin to come for a visit after the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Russia has also influenced Austrian politics, especially with the national-conservative Freedom Party. Like in Germany, several high-ranking Austrian politicians...
7/17
...& officials have moved to Russian business world, including former chancellors Wolfgang Schüssel (board member at Lukoil) & Christian Kern (board member at Russian Railways).Former Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl works for Rosneft and in writes a column for the RT.8/17
This relationship with Russia has strained relations with other EU countries, and this has decreased the trust of their European partners towards the Austrian intelligence services and the defense ministry.
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One anonymous source called the latter as "practically a department of the GRU". As a consequence, British MI5 and the Dutch intelligence agency have heavily reduced information sharing with Austria's intelligence services and defense ministry.
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In 2018, an investigation revealed that an Austrian colonel had spied for Russia since the 90s. BBC described the case as a "particular embarrassment to Austria". In 2020, a retired Austrian military man was sentenced to 3 years in prison for spying for Russia.
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Probably the most famous case of espionage in Austria is the case of Egisto Ott. Ott is a former intelligence officer suspected of selling state secrets to the Russians as well as providing intelligence on anti-Kremlin individuals in the West.
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CIA warned Austrian authorities about Ott already back in 2017. He was eventually transferred to a police academy, where he requested hundreds of illegal searches on various actors, including Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) of Bellingcat.
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In 2021, Austrian diplomat Johannes Peterlik allegedly leaked confidential documents about the Skripali poisonings. He's suspected of giving these documents to a former Austrian secret agent accused for spying on behalf of Russia.
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Austria's banking system is also closely tied to Russia, and Austria's second biggest bank, Raiffeisen Bank International made 35% of its 2021 profits in Russia. Raiffeisen Bank is still one of the few European banks operating as usual in Russia.
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Austrian police forces came under harsh criticism in May, 2022, after they removed pro-Ukrainian, flag-wearing demonstrators from a pro-Russian rally. The pro-Russian crowd was allowed to continue their chants of support for president Putin.
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After the invasion of Ukraine and the massacre in Bucha, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first European leader to visit Putin. He described the discussions as "very direct, open and tough". After Bucha, Austria finally expelled four Russian diplomats.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the Wagner Group, its founders Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, and the mutiny they started on 23 Jun 2023. The event marked the climax of the Wagner Group–Russian MoD conflict, and finally led to the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin.
1/22
Wagner has been used in many conflicts around the world, but they came to global prominence during the war in Donbas in 2014-2015. Wagnerites helped the Donbas separatists fight against the Ukrainians during the conflict, which helped Putin to “outsource” the insurrection.
2/22
The group doesn’t have any central ideology, but many of its members and leaders have ties to various neo—Nazi movements in Russia. For example, Wagner leader Dmitry Utkin had several Nazi symbols tattooed on his body. Neo—nazi group Rusich has also fights as part of Wagner.
3/22
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an Amsterdam-based propaganda channel, Bonanza Media (@bonanzamedia2). It’s best-known for producing & spreading online pro-Kremlin propaganda videos while closely coordinating & collaborating with the Russian intelligence agency GRU.
1/19
Russian intelligence has been extremely active in the Netherlands for a long time. For example in 2018, four GRU agents were caught while trying to hack into OPCW,an organization that monitors the use of chemical weapons. In addition, the International Criminal Court (ICC)…
2/19
…and the MH17 investigation have become targets for the Russian intelligence and propaganda operations. These operations are often complemented with “investigative journalism” media outlets, that often echo the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about the recent EU elections and what are their implications for both the Kremlin and Ukraine. Right-wing political parties, some pro-Kremlin, won a lot of seats around Europe, and this result can also change the EU’s stance on Ukraine.
1/19
But before we start, I want to promote a truck fundraiser I'm doing together with the fantastic @ArturRehi and @69thSB.
Our goal is 20 000 USD, and you can contribute to this important fundraiser here:
EU’s support of Ukraine is essential for their survival against genocidal Russia. So far,this support has been delayed mostly by Orban’s Hungary (& to some degree, Fico’s Slovakia). Now, this support will probably be challenged by many new members of the European Parliament.
3/19
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss a specific propaganda/disinformation that the Kremlin likes to use – antisemitism. I also talk about how the Russian society itself has become riddled with antisemitism & how this has led to a decrease in Jewish population in the country.
1/19
Russian antisemitism works on many levels, and their narratives vary depending whether they’re targeting a local audience or people in Europe and the US. For example for the latter, Russia attempts to create a false narrative of Ukraine being an antisemitic “Nazi state”.
2/19
But before diving deeper, let’s look at a survey data of Russians in 2023: Nearly 30 million Russians harbour antisemitic attitudes, and 15% of those surveyed believed that “Jews were responsible for most of the world’s wars.” 38% think that the Jews have...
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Ukrainian media personality and propagandist, Diana Panchenko (@Panchenko_X). She’s best-known for betraying her own country by peddling anti-Zelenskyy and anti-Ukraine propaganda and disinformation for the Kremlin.
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Panchenko was born in 1988 in the Mykolaev Oblast in Ukrainian SSR in 1988. She studied publishing and editing at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and later graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in law.
2/22
After graduating, Diana worked briefly for the news site . Between 2010 and 2015, Panchenko was a presenter for KyivTV, but she found her true calling as a pro-Kremlin propagandist after she was hired by a national “news channel” called NewsOne.