The spy capital of the world. Why is Vienna a paradise for secret agents?

A silhouette of a spy wearing a hat against a map of Austria in the national colours and the Museum of Art History in Vienna, symbolising Vienna as the spy capital of the world.

Vienna is the real centre of the espionage world. It is said that every second diplomat in the city has intelligence activities on his or her portfolio. What made the Austrian capital an ideal strategic point? It turns out that spies enjoy total impunity there – especially if they hold a Russian passport.

Vienna is a place that is mainly associated with beautiful architecture and cultural adoption. Many people think of the Austrian capital when they think of the Christmas market, the New Year concert or Schonbrunn Palace. However, it turns out that the place is not only attractive from a tourist point of view.

It is a kind of bridge between east and west Europe. Vienna’s position on the map of the Old Continent, its historical connotations, favourable regulations and arrangements make it a real paradise for spies. Read on and find out that nearly hundreds of secret agents did not find themselves in the Austrian capital by chance!

Vienna – particularly liked by the Soviets

The modern history of espionage on the Danube begins after World War II. It was then that the Austrian capital was favoured by Soviet agents as a starting point for their intelligence activities. This was largely determined by Vienna’s location on the map of Europe.

The importance of the location was already understood by the emperors of Rome. In the 2nd century BC, a camp of great strategic importance was established there. Vindobona was the nucleus of what is today Vienna. Among others, Marcus Aurelius, who was particularly fond of the site, died there. Hundreds of years later, the city became the capital of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

When the Second World War came to an end, the Soviets established an extensive intelligence infrastructure in Vienna. They also gained a lot of business and political contacts. How is it possible that, during the Cold War, Western diplomats also held an equally important position in this city?

Vienna’s geographic location favourable to espionage

A map of Europe with a small Austrian flag pinned on Austria, emphasizing its central and strategic location in the region.

The informal choice of Vienna as the capital of world espionage makes sense if we consider the city‘s geographical location. Austria lies at the heart of Europe, and after 1945 was the natural link between West and East. This is because it bordered the countries behind the Iron Curtain.

The country’s neutral status during the Cold War also made a big difference. Mozart’s homeland did not loudly advocate either side. Moreover, it was the first Eastern Bloc country to establish economic relations with the USSR. In the 1960s, raw materials from Moscow began to flow into Austria, including substantial gas supplies.

Meanwhile, agencies from the USA, Great Britain and Germany were also active in Vienna . The field for cleverly extracting information from the most important sources was in fact open to anyone who sent their man over the Danube.

Is espionage legal? In Vienna it certainly is!

When in almost every place in the world espionage at such an advanced level is not legal, in Vienna the case is quite different. Gustav Gressel of the European Council on Foreign Relations explains the rules on Vot Tak, quoted by the Velsat portal:

– In Austria, espionage is only considered a crime if it is directed against the Austrian state and its institutions. Espionage against other countries can in principle go unpunished. Economic espionage is defined very vaguely. Moreover, the penalties for this kind of activity are very lenient,’ he explains.

For this reason, the diplomacies of the individual countries are most represented precisely in Vienna. A large proportion of their representatives are intelligence agents who work undercover. According to the official website of the City of Vienna, there are nearly 3 800 diplomats and more than 6 000 international officials in the Austrian capital.

This is influenced not only by the favourable conditions for spying, but also by other factors, as mentioned by Gressel in his statement quoted above:

– […] Austria is in the Schengen area, from where one can easily travel throughout Europe. […] There are many offices of international organisations in Vienna, where various employees – including many spies – can be accredited, he explains.

The war in Ukraine has not changed anything

Ukrainian soldiers with a national flag during a battlefield scene featuring tanks, explosions, and artillery fire, symbolizing the ongoing conflict and resilience of Ukraine.

The collapse of communism has had no negative impact, either on Vienna’s position as the world’s spy capital or on its relationship with Russia. Moscow and the city on the Danube still maintained close economic ties with each other. Not much changed in this respect after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Russian spies also had and still have a lot of freedom. Quoted by Belsat, Sergei Zhirnov – a former KGB officer and international relations expert – claims that at least a third of Russian diplomats in Vienna are secret agents of the intelligence services. These individuals and their activities are supposed to be well known to local spies.

After Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, only four Russian spies were expelled from Austria. In comparison, well over 400 officials across the European Union have said goodbye to their posts. In Vienna alone, around 180 diplomats from the country with its capital in Moscow remain. There are no signs of more radical steps.

The words of Siegfried Beer, founder of the Austrian Research Centre for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security, in the context of Vienna’s attraction to espionage, seem telling.

– The Austrian authorities wanted to maintain their neutrality. To this end, the country created an atmosphere in which everyone felt comfortable and benefited in some way. Just like in business. Espionage was and still is a business. It attracts a lot of people with a lot of money and serious connections to the country,’ quotes the Belsat portal.

And as it is in business, everything was, is and will be more important in this matter than morality and correctness.

The capital of spies. There is no sign of change in Vienna

There is no sign of any change in the attitude towards Russian spies in particular. At the beginning of 2023, the three largest opposition parties in the Austrian National Council drafted a bill that would criminalise domestic spying. However, the government blocked consideration – not for the first time and despite strong advocacy from the European Union.

Recently, there has been growing concern from Brussels and the Austrian coalition about the freedom to spy in Vienna. Serious prospects for change, at least as far as agents from Russia are concerned, are not in sight. The popularity of the pro-Russian Freedom Party, which, if it successfully forms a governing coalition, will not be eager to change the status quo, isgrowing.

Vienna, the spy capital of the world – summary

Vienna and its patch as the world capital of espionage did not come from nowhere. The history of the activities of intelligence agents from all over the world dates back to the Second World War and is still being written before our eyes.

When going to the Austrian capital, it is worth taking into account this mysterious context of the city and looking at it in a different way. Could the world’s capital of spies be any more charming?

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