Vladimir Putin was filmed showing off his language skills and dancing at the Austrian FM’s wedding. The happy couple and their guests also enjoyed a performance of the Kuban Cossack Choir, which the Russian leader brought along.
The video shows Russian President Vladimir Putin arriving with a big bouquet and then dancing to a cheerful piano tune with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl. The two smile and enjoy themselves as guests take photos and film them on their phones. Kneissl and Putin certainly didn’t forget about etiquette. The foreign minister, dressed for the occasion in a beige dirndl – a traditional alpine dress – ended the dance with a curtsy, while Putin responded with a bow.
Kneissl, 53, tied the knot with businessman Wolfgang Meilinger, 54, on Saturday in a vineyard in the picturesque town of Gamlitz.
When the guests were seated, the Russian president had the opportunity to show off his German skills. Putin delivered a lengthy toast, honoring the newlyweds and wishing happiness, harmony, and love to the couple. He also threw in a few jokes, eliciting laughs and applause from the newlyweds and their guests. He noted that Kneissl enjoys Russian culture, so he brought a bit of it with him.
The Kuban Cossack Choir, dressed in traditional red kaftans and wool hats, performed songs in Russian and German.
But that wasn’t Putin’s only gift – he also gave Kneissl and Meilinger a rural landscape painting, an antique butter churn, and a samovar – a tradition Russian water boiler used to make tea.
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