Meeting with Russians

Putin representative traveled to Vienna with a visa in March

From the left: Mikhail Shvydkoy with Russian President Vladimir Putin

(Bild: AFP)

In March, Putin's special representative for international cultural cooperation was able to travel to Vienna and on to Bratislava with a visa. This was announced by the Austrian Foreign Ministry in response to an inquiry. Mikhail Shvydkoy is not on any EU sanctions list, it said.

In addition, the legal requirements for a visa had been met. Shvydkoy is probably the highest-ranking Kremlin envoy to come to Austria since the start of the war in Ukraine. The art historian and long-time special representative of Vladimir Putin (Russian president, note) met Russians in Vienna on March 11, most of whom asked him for subsidies and support.

As the legal requirements of the Visa Code were met and the applicant was not on any EU sanctions list, the visa was granted.

Abteilungsleiter im Außenministerium

Political representatives canceled
According to the bureaucrat, however, political representatives canceled "at the last minute". He finally met them in Slovakia, whose government has taken a much more Russia-friendly stance following a change of government last fall. The Putin envoy met with Prime Minister Robert Fico and Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár in March, for example.

According to diplomatic circles, Russian citizens would receive a visa if required, just like Austrian citizens. Recently, however, Austrian politicians have rarely traveled to Russia: Gregor Kössler, Political Director at the Austrian Foreign Ministry, traveled to Russia at the end of 2021, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) in April 2022. 

No visa for Ernst-Dziedzic
The attempt by Green MP Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic to obtain a Russian visa to attend the funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow was unsuccessful in February 2024.