The research project "Soviet-Austrian Economic and Trade Relations, 1955-1964" will be
conducted at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War in
cooperation with the Russian State University of Humanities (RGGU) from 2022 to 2025.
Numerous international partners such as Harvard University and the University of Helsinki are
involved. The aim is to research the economic thinking of the Soviet leaders, which under
Khrushchev underwent a decisive change. Greater attention was now paid to the development
of bilateral trade and economic relations, especially with Finland and Austria. The aim of this
project is to examine the economic interaction of the Soviet Union with one of the capitalist
countries of Europe in the context of the development of political relations and taking into
account the specifics of Austria`s neutral status.
For the Soviet side, trade with Austria had both an economic and a political function: the
example of the positive development of economic relations fitted well with Khrushchev`s
concept of peaceful coexistence.
On the basis of Soviet and Austrian archival sources, it will be investigated - what the
conceptual economic and political reasons were for the successful development of trade and
economic relations between the USSR and Austria; - whether economic facilitation through
trade agreements, but also discounts on compensation deliveries, were used as a soft power
instrument against neutral Austria; - to what extent compensation deliveries served to build
confidence as a basis for trade; - how trade and economic relations between the Soviet Union
and Austria and those between the Soviet Union and Finland developed; - and whether trade
and economic relations with neutral Austria were seen by the Soviet Union as an "experimental
field" or model for East-West trade in general.
As in previous international research projects of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research
on the Consequences of War, the results of the project will be published in various publicat ions
in English, German and Russian.