"Without approval"

Vienna principal rails against Austria on Kremlin TV

Director Klar with the Russian reporter at the school(Bild: Screenshot Rossija 1)

Within 15 months, Russian state television visited a middle school in Floridsdorf twice, allegedly to shed light on the "Islamization of Austria." But then came a rude awakening for the school's principal: his statements had been manipulated. The education authority clarified in response to an inquiry from "Krone": "Approval (...) would never have been granted."

Anyone who watches Russian television finds themselves in a parallel world: bombs and missiles fly dramatically across the screen accompanied by appropriate background music. Then the voice of star presenter and chief propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov is heard, whose rhetoric is hard to beat in terms of distortion. The West is an aggressive enemy, the ongoing war was provoked by Ukraine, Europe is suffering from a decline in values, and immigrants are ruining society, he rants.

Under the pretext of wanting to talk about his new book, a Russian reporter visited a school in Floridsdorf. When principal Christian Klar learned of the corresponding Russian reporting, he was completely baffled. 

Christian Klar is no stranger to the public eye. After the publication of his books "What's Going On in Our Schools?" (2024) and "How Can We Save Our Children's Future?" (2025), he was invited to numerous discussion panels.(Bild: krone.tv)

"I never said anything like that"
Children of migrants have no basic education, they can neither read nor write nor eat with cutlery, Christian Klar, principal of the Franz Jonas European School, is completely misquoted in Russian in an interview with "Rossija 1," one of the most widely watched channels in Russia. "I never said anything like that," he confirms to the "Krone."

Isabella Lichtenegger, who allegedly teaches at the school but whom Klar has never heard of, is also quoted. "They don't know that they should use a napkin. They don't wash their hands. Very often, these children do not receive the basic education that ten- to eleven-year-olds should have in their families. That is a much more serious problem," the language trainer is quoted as saying by Russian media.

Education department examines consequences
The Vienna Education Authority is just as surprised as the principal: "We have known since yesterday's inquiry by Falter (Vienna weekly newspaper, note) that Principal Klar gave interviews to Russian state television. After consulting with the school quality manager responsible at the time and based on our documentation, there is no indication that the Vienna Education Authority approved an interview. However, due to personnel changes in the press department and the time factor, we cannot rule it out entirely."

It is clear to the Education Authority that the interview was never approved. Such approval would have "required in-depth examination and would not have been granted at any of the times mentioned. We are therefore currently preparing appropriate measures."