Kukuru bet
The Kukuruzwette (Kukuruz = Austrian corn) is known in Austria as a bet on corn yields that was made in 1960 between the Austrian National Council President Leopold Figl and the Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev . The incident gained general notoriety and "was of great symbolic importance in the up-and-coming Austria of the 1960s ".
state visit
At the beginning of July 1960, Khrushchev was on a state visit to Austria lasting several days, during which, among other things, there were talks on disarmament issues and the restitution of Austrian documents by the Soviets. The trip basically had the character of a friendship visit and less concrete political success as its goal. Khrushchev stated in his memoirs:
"We had absolutely no claims against Austria, and Austria had none against us."
Nevertheless, the state visit lasted exceptionally long. Khrushchev stayed in Austria for a total of nine days and visited several federal states. On Sunday, July 3rd, the Soviet Prime Minister visited the parental farm of the former Austrian Chancellor and now National Council President Leopold Figl in Lower Austria , which was run by his brother Josef. Khrushchev and Figl knew each other from the negotiations for the Austrian State Treaty . Part of the visit included seeing the cattle, agricultural machinery and even the manure heap.
bet
The Soviet Prime Minister had already noticed the allegedly low height of the Austrian maize plants while driving to the farm. In an interview with Figl, he claimed that Soviet seeds would yield ten times as much harvest as Austrian seeds. Finally a bet was made and the stake was a pig. It had been expected to be a symbolic bargain that would be ignored. So the surprise was great when Khrushchev sent Russian seeds to be planted a year later. The Soviet ambassador took the bet personally and it was carried out seriously:
"Figl's brother, who ran the farm, even studied Russian seeds in Hungary, and a Soviet agricultural expert from the embassy in Vienna checked the field that the Russians had created in Rust."
Eventually it was found that the two seeds were almost equivalent. Figl had won the bet, even if he never received the bet himself. Ultimately, his visit to Austria left positive memories for the Soviet ruler:
“I had a wonderful impression of my stay in Austria. This is a fairytale country. There are excellent roads, very beautiful hills and green meadows and a landscape that caresses the eye. "
reception
While the state visit itself caused a stir internationally and, according to critical statements by Khrushchev towards the USA and the Federal Republic of Germany, even led to diplomatic protests against Austria, the kukuru bet itself was mainly anecdotal and interpreted in the sense of a strengthened Austrian national and performance awareness.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f 50 years of the Kukuruzwette . orf.at
- ↑ AEIOU - biography of Leopold Figls
- ↑ a b Nazi looted property in the State Archives . derstandard.at
- ↑ a b c Not enough sense . diepresse.at
- ↑ a b c When Khrushchev "sniffed" us . diepresse.at
- ↑ Figl never saw the sow he won . diepresse.at
- ↑ Leopold Figls Reden ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 49 kB) Reading sample
