Walking through the streets of Vienna, Austria’s capital city, one is constantly reminded of its historical and cultural significance. From the opera houses to palaces formerly owned by emperors and empresses, Vienna is the site of many imposing landmarks. Nowadays, the city is also home to important globally oriented organisations, such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This is one of the characteristics that not only makes Vienna politically interesting in terms of foreign affairs, but also gives way to more sinister activities. Widely known as the “city of spies,” its central European position and status as a hotspot for international organisations makes Vienna an attractive place to gather intelligence on other global powers.
To paint a clearer picture of how Vienna became the world’s capital of espionage and what intelligence gathering can look like today, I interviewed Thomas Riegler, an affiliate researcher at the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (ACIPSS). Having written several books on Vienna’s circle of espionage, Riegler is an expert in the field. At our meeting in the Café Rathaus, which itself boasts over 180 years of history, Dr. Riegler
started our talk by telling me about the background of Vienna’s reputation as a spy capital.
Historical Context
The origins of espionage in Vienna can be traced back to the first centuries of the Habsburg Empire. Stories of the emperor’s cabinet sorting through mail in order to sniff out state secrets show that espionage certainly is not a new phenomenon. In the years leading up to the First World War, a Russian diaspora was taking shape in Vienna, as many Russian natives spent time in the city. Among them were influential figures such as Leo Trotsky and Josef Stalin. The most infamous case of espionage at this time was that of Austrian intelligence officer Alfred Redl, who was found to have shared classified information with several countries, including Russia, France, and Italy.
Media representation also helped cement Vienna’s status as a “city of spies.” The 1949 film noir “The Third Man” technically focuses on the black market, but was written with the help of former spies, therefore contributing to a perceived mystique attributed to Vienna and its history. However, as Dr. Riegler points out, Vienna is by no means the only city in which espionage runs rampant. On the contrary, there are many European cities that can compete with Vienna to earn the title of “city of spies.” Brussels, being significantly more important on a global scale as the city housing institutions of the European Union, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, takes the cake.
WE ARE PRACTICALLY DAMNED TO BE A HUB FOR ESPIONAGE, AND THIS WON’T CHANGE ANYTIME SOON.
Legislation on Espionage in Austria and Austria’s Neutrality
There are other factors that explain the frequency of espionage activity in Austria, namely its legislation. As long as foreign influences do not target Austria itself, they are technically welcome to do as they please, meaning that potentially nefarious individuals may gather information on other countries without fearing legal prosecution. In a city that hosts as many international organisations as Vienna does, it does not take much imagination to see why this could pose a threat to international relations. Even in cases where proof of malintent against Austria was brought forward, the accused were met with mild sentences. Political parties in Austria, such as the Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) and the Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS), have made attempts to tighten legislation on espionage – however, recent national council elections overshadowed this effort.
This legal aspect is especially relevant now that court proceedings have started against Egisto Ott, the former chief inspector for the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz und Terrorismusbekämpfung (BVT), Austria’s intelligence agency, which imploded following several scandals concerning abuse of office by its members. Ott has been accused of passing on confidential information to Russia for years, but interestingly, this facet is not part of the case being made. His supposed entanglement with Russian spy and man-on-the-run Jan Marsalek, one of the leading figures of the now insolvent financial services provider Wirecard, is still being investigated.
What also makes Austria prone to being a spy hub is its neutrality. Dr. Riegler explains that neutral states have always been ideal spaces for espionage networks to form, especially in times of war. Austria’s officially neutral status, its lax legislation, and its position as host to international organisations certainly explain the development of spy networks, or as Dr. Riegler puts it: “We are practically damned to be a hub for espionage, and this won’t change anytime soon.”
The Future of Espionage in Austria
Current political developments, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, could increasingly play a role in attempts to combat espionage. The hacking of several political parties on the day of the Austrian National Council election is one such example. Officials suspected a pro-Russian group to be behind this cyber-attack to express criticism against Austria’s stance toward Ukraine. The Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ), Austria’s far-right party, which has expressed sympathies with Russia and won the recent election, was apparently not targeted during this attack.
While the current cases in the public eye are related to Russia, other countries, including China and North Korea, have tried their hand at gathering intelligence on other parties, using Austria as an intermediary. With geopolitical tensions rising, only time will tell how espionage in Austria will be affected.
In response to my question about future developments of Austria’s position on espionage, Dr. Riegler remains sceptical. Since very few cases resulted in significant consequences, it seems unlikely that an overhaul of Austria’s stance on espionage is imminent. “It is necessary that espionage is managed to a bearable level,” he suggests, “because completely removing it will not be possible.”
Austria’s unique state of being caught in the thicket of global players would make it difficult to challenge political players to a battle that it knows it cannot win. In short, as long as Vienna remains vulnerable to foreign influences, its reputation as a “city of spies” will be hard to shake. The question is not if espionage will persist, but rather how Austria will navigate its role as both a target and a stage for the world’s spies.
