Abstract: The article overviews the relationship between Russia and Austria since the XVIII century on the example of relations between St. Petersburg, the former capital of the Russian Empire until 1917, and Vienna remaining the capital of Austria until now. The relations explored from the perspective of friendly and voluntary cultural ties can be traced both in the formal (political) and informal fields. The main directions of the relations considered in the article are as follows: education, small and large business, festival and tour movement, Museum contacts. The article also pays attention to the issues of interpersonal, domestic interaction, tourist flows and Austria’s activity at the UNESCO platform – the organization actively working in Russia in general and in St. Petersburg in particular. The main information sources of the article were the official site of the St. Petersburg Government, the website of The Austrian Embassy in Moscow, as well as publications in the Russian-language press about some projects in the cultural sphere of both States. In the light of the tense political situation between Russia and Europe in 2017-2018, such an appeal to the historical roots and the call for friendship between the two States seems more than relevant and topical. The article provides a number of assumptions about the possible ways of further development of cooperation, the prospects of the current course maintainance, and also emphasizes the historically grounded similarity of the studied objects.