Official's Infamous Waltz With Putin Still Defines Her

When Karin Kneissl was serving as Austria's foreign minister in 2018, she wasn't exactly a household name even in her own country. A "marginal figure" is how Amanda Coakley describes her in a profile at the Guardian. Then came the move that put her on the world's radar, for better or worse. She invited none other than Vladimir Putin to her wedding, and the Russian leader surprised everyone by accepting. In fact, he danced a waltz with her, and the photos were a sensation. "[The dance] was almost OK until the very end, but when she bowed, I was like, we're completely f---ed," a former colleague of Kneissl's tells Coakley. The optics sparked international outrage, fueled questions about Austria's neutrality, and symbolized Vienna's persistent closeness with Moscow."

Kneissl remained unapologetic, insisting, "I'm not submissive to anyone." Still, she was out of office a year later—thanks mainly to a scandal over a party leader's ties to Russia. At that point, Kneissl found herself marginalized, financially unsettled, and socially isolated in Austria, writes Coakley. She relocated a few times before ultimately settling in—wait for it—Russia, where she now heads a think tank at St. Petersburg University. But "I wouldn't be surprised if she fell out with the Russians and end up in Beijing, or Caracas, or somewhere else," said one former colleague. (Read the full story, which explores what Kneissl's story says about Russia's long and controversial ties to Austria.)