Russia-Related Association "People in Resilience" Under Judicial Scrutiny

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor's Office stated this at the beginning of the week to the APA. The two "general coordinators" of the association "People in Resilience" based in Vienna did not want to comment on the procedure in response to several inquiries from the APA.

Investigations into Association Linked to the Russian Embassy in Vienna

The association "People in Resilience", abbreviated as MIR, which is connected to the Russian Embassy in Vienna, has organized demonstrations since 2023, in which Russians living in Austria and people from other parts of the former Soviet Union commemorated the Great Patriotic War between 1941 and 1945, that is, the defensive struggle against Hitler's Germany in World War II.

Screening of Controversial War Film at Morzinplatz

Recently, the association was responsible for an event on the 80th anniversary of "Victory Day" on May 9, during which another so-called march of the "Immortal Regiment" took place. Demonstration participants carried posters with portraits of Soviet war veterans from their families. For Saturday, on the occasion of the invasion of Nazi Germany into the Soviet Union on June 21, 1941, the screening of the Russian war film "28 Panfilov's Men", controversial for its historical distortion, is announced at Vienna's Morzinplatz. The Russian Embassy also informed about this planned screening via Facebook at the beginning of the week.

"People in Resilience" also acts in Austria as a representative of the Russian movement "Immortal Regiment", which is led by retired Colonel General Sergei Makarov. This "all-Russian social and civic-patriotic movement" based in Moscow is formally an NGO, but it is evidently also close to the Russian state. Dimitri K., one of the two general coordinators of the Vienna association, repeatedly traveled to Russia as Austria's representative of the "Immortal Regiment".

Anonymous Emails About Possible Violation of 14th Sanctions Package

According to APA information, an anonymous email writer repeatedly pointed out to the responsible Austrian authorities that the activities of the association could be in contradiction to the EU sanctions imposed due to Russia's war in Ukraine - and thus to the Austrian Sanctions Act. In particular, reference was made to the 14th sanctions package from June 2024, which prohibited NGOs in the European Union from directly or indirectly receiving donations and support from the Russian government or organizations controlled by it.

Whether "People in Resilience" received Russian money is unclear. If there were indeed financial flows from the "Immortal Regiment" in Moscow to its representation in Austria, the question would also remain open as to whether the "civic-patriotic movement" is really acting on the instructions of the Russian government or not.

Association Representatives Refuse to Provide Information: "No Questions. Bye"

Regarding the matter of a possible violation of sanctions law, a report was submitted to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, a spokesperson for the Austrian Ministry of the Interior informed on May 8 in response to an APA inquiry. The public prosecutor's office saw an initial suspicion and initiated a formal investigation. Both general coordinators of "People in Resilience," who also hold relevance for the diaspora as administrators of one of the largest Russian-speaking Facebook groups in Austria, did not want to comment on the matter despite multiple, including written, inquiries from the APA.

(APA/Red)

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