Geopolitical Observatory on Russia's Key Issues

Karin Kneissl of GORKI

Geopolitical Observatory on Russia's Key Issues (GORKI) is a St. Petersburg University think tank established in March 2023 and tasked with advancing Russian foreign policy led by Karin Kneissl, an ally of Vladimir Putin and former Austrian Foreign Minister.

Former Austrian FM to lead Russian think tank

From an article dated June 17, 2023 at Russia Today titled "Former Austrian FM to lead Russian think tank":

"Former Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl is set to lead a new Russian think tank, the Geopolitical Observatory for Russia's Key Issues (GORKI). The research institute has been established as a division of St. Petersburg State University and will focus on West Asia studies and energy issues.

The GORKI think tank was unveiled at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, with Kneissl herself and senior members of the university present at the event.

“Today, all decisions in the global economy should be based on a deep and professional analysis of the international situation, so I am very glad that such a center was opened at the St. Petersburg State University, we have all the necessary intellectual resources for such work,” said Nikolai Kropachev, the rector of the university.

The think tank brings together more than 20 top specialists in the field. The president of the French association Geopragma, Caroline Galacteros, and Norwegian political scientist Glenn Diesen will be involved as external experts, alongside multiple leading Russian scientists.

"The think tank is set to hold its first seminars in October, Kneissl said, adding that she was “looking forward” to them. GORKI is expected to become a welcome addition to Russia’s intellectual arsenal, particularly at a time when the country is undergoing a “turn to the East,” said Viktor Titov, the deputy head of the think tank and a deputy dean of the economics faculty at the university.

Kneissl, Austria’s top diplomat between 2017 and 2019, is well known for her close ties with Russia – and the country’s President Vladimir Putin in particular. Putin made a surprise appearance at her wedding in 2018 and danced with her in front of the cameras. The occurrence ended up being widely publicized, while the diplomat’s critics condemned it as an instance of ‘Russian meddling’ in Austria’s affairs.

In 2021 and 2022, the former minister was also on the board of Russia’s state-owned oil giant Rosneft and resigned at the end of May 2022, three months after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out. Kneissl has also been a long-time contributor at RT, writing opinion pieces on Russia’s relations with the West and other issues.

Roscongress Foundation

From an article posted at St. Petersburg University dated June 23, 2023 titled "St Petersburg University takes part in the 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum":

"The 26th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2023) has begun its work in St. Petersburg. The Forum has established itself as a leading platform for business networking and discussion of key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets and the world at large. The business programme will include a number of events involving representatives of St. Petersburg University; and as per tradition, the University experts will participate in public debates and roundtable discussions.

"One of the highlights of the SPIEF 2023 for St. Petersburg University will be the public presentation of the Centre "Geopolitical Observatory for Russia’s Key Issues" (GORKI) at St Petersburg University. The goal of the GORKI Centre is to carry out research on: issues of economic and demographic development; energy independence; migration; and various aspects of visionary diplomacy and Russian foreign policy. Dr Karin Kneissl, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria, and Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St. Petersburg University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will speak at the Forum about the GORKI Centre’s activities.

Dancing with Putin and Moving to Russia

One-time Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl dances with Russian president Vladimir Putin at her wedding in August 2018

From The Guardian in an article dated September 13, 2023:

An Austrian former foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, who became infamous in 2018 for dancing with Russian president Vladimir Putin at her wedding, has moved to St. Petersburg – along with her ponies, which were flown in on a Russian military plane.

In 2018, Karin Kneissl, then foreign minister of neutral Austria, made headlines when she invited Putin to her wedding. It drew widespread criticism, coming just months after some EU countries – excluding Austria – expelled scores of Russian diplomats in response to the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

The 58-year-old left the government the following year. A highly controversial figure in her own country, Kneissl moved to France in September 2020 and became a guest columnist for Russia Today, which is widely viewed as a propaganda arm of the Kremlin.

In a Telegram post on Wednesday, she expressed astonishment that her move to Russia had become “political”, and said she had moved her “books, clothes and ponies from Marseille to Beirut via DHL” in June 2022 after being “banished” from France.

But Lebanon was only a temporary solution, she said, and she travelled to Russia every six weeks for work, where she is now setting up a thinktank.

“Due to sanctions there are neither flights nor DHL [for the move to Russia ],” she wrote. “I therefore had the option of accompanying a Russian transport flight from Syria to Russia, for which I am very grateful.”

Last week, Kneissl’s two ponies were flown to St. Petersburg on a military aircraft from the Russian air base at Hmeimim in Syria after it was diverted from carrying troops, according to a report by Russian investigative website The Insider.

In June, Kneissl unveiled the Gorki centre ("G.O.R.K.I")– a thinktank attached to St. Petersburg University to operate under her leadership. The thinktank was set up to “help define the policies for the Russian Federation” with a focus on the Near and Middle East.

In 2021, Kneissl joined the board of directors of the Russian oil giant Rosneft.

She stepped down in May 2022 after the European Parliament passed a resolution threatening sanctions against Europeans still on the boards of major Russian companies.