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Dancing with Putin, how Austria's former foreign minister found a new home in Russia by Amanda Coakley, read by Avna Manzer-Wallis.

The trouble started with a dead cat.

For years, the people of Zybrisdorf had lived amicably alongside their most famous resident,

more or less.

True, there had been an incident when a neighbour complained about the smell of her

horses. And yes, there had been rumblings about her lack of community spirit, that she was great at

giving orders for neighbourhood events, but never pitched in to fry a schnitzel or hang bunting. But for the

most part, they got along.

Karen Knaissel was a blow-in from Vienna, an hour north. She had lived in Zybersdorf for more than two decades, moving into a rickety old apartment before buying a house near the central square.

She had arrived as a junior diplomat,

then became a freelance journalist,

and later began lecturing on international relations

at some of Austria's most prestigious institutions.

For a brief period, she also sat on the town's parish council.

Then, in 2017, Knaisel became Austria's foreign minister. It was a sudden appointment, and it surprised everyone in town.

But when the residents stopped to think about it, it made a certain amount of sense.

Knaisel was a true eccentric,

the kind of person who was always doing and saying unexpected things. You never quite knew where she would go next, so why not the Austrian foreign ministry? The cat incident took place

just before Knaisel entered office, or at least that's what Franz Purschitz, the town's deputy mayor, remembers.

...