This monograph, based on newly declassifi ed sources from Western and Russi- an archives as well as on communist texts about international law and neutrality, A Good Example of is the fi rst English-language account of Soviet policy towards neutral yet capi- talist Austria during the Cold War. In order to make neutrality a model for the West, the Kremlin presented the unique Soviet-Austrian relationship as “a good Peaceful Coexistence? example of peaceful coexistence” and a showcase for the benefi ts a Western state might reap by declaring neutrality. This honor, however, had strings attached: The communist doctrine of neutrality contained obligations that were expected to make it possible to exploit neutral states as instruments of Soviet policy and bring them nearer the socialist bloc. While Austrian leaders were careful to avoid these pitfalls, Soviet interventions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia in 1956 and 1968 and interference into Austria’s interpretation of neutral policy could not but deeply affect Austrian policy and the Soviet-Austrian honeymoon. “Ein großer Wurf!” – Gerald Stourzh, Professor emeritus, University of Vienna “The study transcends the Austrian case and makes an important contribution to our knowledge about Soviet foreign policy.” – Andreas Kappeler, Professor of Russian History, University of Vienna “Rich in content, mature in its conception, and methodologically innovative.” – Michael Gehler, Professor of History, University of Hildesheim Wolfgang Mueller · A Good Example of Peaceful Coexistence? A Mueller · Wolfgang The Soviet Union, Austria, and Neutrality, 1955–1991 Wolfgang Mueller, PhD, is research group leader for contemporary and Cold War history at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a lecturer in Russian stu- WOLFGANG MUELLER dies and International Relations at the University of Vienna. His publications include Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich (Böhlau 2005) and Sowjetische Politik in Österreich: Dokumente aus russischen Archiven: Sovetskaia politika v Avstrii: Dokumenty iz Rossiiskikh arkhivov (with N. Naimark, A. Suppan, G. Bordiugov, eds. Verlag der ÖAW 2005). Printed and bound in the EU WOLFGANG MUELLER A GOOD EXAMPLE OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE? THE SOVIET UNION, AUSTRIA, AND NEUTRALITY, 1955‒1991 ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KLASSE HISTORISCHE KOMMISSION ZENTRALEUROPA-STUDIEN HERAUSGEGEBEN VON ARNOLD SUPPAN UND GRETE KLINGENSTEIN BAND 15 WOLFGANG MUELLER A Good Example of Peaceful Coexistence? The Soviet Union, Austria, and Neutrality 1955‒1991 Vorgelegt von w. M. Arnold Suppan in der Sitzung am 18. Juni 2010 Cover: The Austrian chancellor, Julius Raab (r.), welcomes Nikita Khrushchev in his office, 30 June 1960, photograph by Fritz Kern, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Bildarchiv, FO504632_4_48. Cover design: Oliver Hunger British Library Cataloguing in Publication data. A Catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library. Die verwendete Papiersorte ist aus chlorfrei gebleichtem Zellstoff hergestellt, frei von säurebildenden Bestandteilen und alterungsbeständig. Alle Rechte vorbehalten ISBN 978-3-7001-6898-0 Copyright © 2011 by Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Druck und Bindung: Prime Rate kft., Budapest http://hw.oeaw.ac.at/6898-0 http://verlag.oeaw.ac.at Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 9 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 13 Soviet-Austrian relations, 1945–1955 ......................................................... 13 “Peaceful coexistence” ................................................................................ 16 The Austrian state treaty and declaration of neutrality ................................ 20 The aim, sources and structure of this study ................................................ 29 I. Laying the Groundwork and Changing Neutrality, 1955–1960 ............ 39 1. Two Differing Concepts of Neutrality .................................................... 41 The Soviet attitude towards neutrality .................................................. 43 The Soviet theory of neutrality in the late 1950s and 1960s ................ 56 Austria’s neutrality, its Swiss model, and the Soviet interpretation ..... 67 2. The Post-State Treaty Honeymoon… ..................................................... 77 The establishment of friendly relations ................................................ 79 Frictions ................................................................................................ 86 3. …and its Sudden End ............................................................................. 89 The Hungarian revolution ..................................................................... 89 The recovery ......................................................................................... 95 4. Starting Anew: After the Hungarian Revolution .................................... 103 The Raab visit and the Lebanon crisis .................................................. 106 Cultural relations and the World Youth Festival 1959 .......................... 111 The Khrushchev visit ............................................................................ 116 Economic relations ............................................................................... 122 5. Summary: Soviet “Thaw” and the Making of a Neutral ........................ 127 II. Overcast, but Friendly? 1961–1972 .......................................................... 133 6. The Soviet Union, Austria’s Rapprochement with the EEC, and the Convocation of the CSCE .................................................................... 135 The Soviet attitude towards an Austrian rapprochement with the EEC, 1959–1963 ......................................................................................... 138 The Alleingang, 1963–1967 ................................................................. 150 The EEC issue and the Soviet encouragement for convoking the CSCE,1967–1972 .............................................................................. 162 6 Contents 7. The Czechoslovakian Crisis of 1968 and Austria’s Military Vulner- ability ..................................................................................................... 175 The Warsaw Pact’s intervention and the Soviet reputation in Austria.. 175 Warsaw Pact plans and Austria’s self-defense ...................................... 180 8. Making Economic and Cultural Relations Mutual ................................. 187 Trade ..................................................................................................... 187 Cultural relations and personal contacts ............................................... 192 9. Summary: Soviet Containment and Encouragement; Austria’s Ostpolitik and Further Neutralization ...................................................................... 197 III. Détente, the Heyday of Multilateralism, and the Last Peak of the Cold War, 1973–1984 .......................................................................................... 201 10. Political Relations and the Rise of Multilateralism .............................. 203 Kreisky, “active neutrality,” and Austrian-Soviet relations ................ 207 The USSR and Austria on the international stage .............................. 215 11. A Thorn in the Side: Human and Cultural Contacts ............................. 225 Soviet dissidents, the Jewish exodus from the USSR, and the Austrian media ................................................................................... 225 Cultural exchange, tourism, and the image of the other ..................... 230 12. Booming, but not Enough: Economic Relations .................................. 235 Austria’s dependency and trade deficit ............................................... 238 13. The Final Peak of the Cold War ........................................................... 245 To boycott or not to boycott? .............................................................. 248 Trade or embargo? .............................................................................. 251 14. Summary: Declining Soviet Interest in Neutrality despite Austria’s Efforts ................................................................................................. 253 IV. The Aftermath, 1985–1991 ........................................................................ 259 15. The End of the Cold War, European Integration, and the Obsolescence of the Special Relationship ................................................................... 261 Gorbachev, Austria’s EC application, and the disintegration of the USSR ............................................................................................... 261 Humanitarian aid and economic relations .......................................... 269 Human contacts, scientific and cultural cooperation .......................... 271 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 275 Documents ......................................................................................................... 287 Document 1: Conversation A. Mikoian – J. Raab, Vienna, 24 April 1957 (in German) ............................................................................................... 287 Contents 7 Document 2: Personal letter N. Bulganin – J. Raab, 8 January 1958