Austria's ex-Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, known for waltzing with Putin, will teach at university in Ryazan after moving to Russia

Former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl is set to begin teaching at Ryazan State University in Russia, the institution's acting rector, Dmitry Bokov, announced today on his Telegram channel. Bokov posted a photo with Kneissl and said she had visited the university, promising to give details “soon.”

Kneissl announced her permanent move to Russia in March of this year, describing it as “a truly free country.” She first settled in a village near Ryazan, in central Russia, then moved to St. Petersburg. Kneissl emigrated from Austria in 2022, claiming that she had received death threats in her home country.

In September 2023, The Insider reported that two of Kneissl’s ponies had been flown from Syria to Russia on an Il-76MD aircraft linked to the Russian Defense Ministry's 224th flight detachment, which is under U.S. sanctions for transporting Wagner Group equipment and personnel.

Soon after, the website of the Leningrad Region’s Veterinary Department released a report stating that it had examined the two ponies brought by Kneissl. Specialists collected blood samples and placed the animals in quarantine. “The domestic horses are healthy,” the report concluded.

Karin Kneissl served as Austria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2017 and 2019. In August 2018, Vladimir Putin was a guest at Kneissl’s wedding and was photographed waltzing with the bride.