There are many individual battles that tell the story of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, but few can have quite the fairytale resonance of Natalya Sindeyeva’s. A dancer as well as a defiant truth-teller, Sindeyeva has lived a life that feels a bit back to front: she first married her handsome prince and then all her struggles began.
Sindeyeva’s wedding took place at the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg in 2006. She was the founder and voice of a celebrated non-stop music radio station and a fixture in style magazines; her new husband, Alexander “Sasha” Vinokurov, was part of the fabulously wealthy post-communist oligarchy, the young multimillionaire head of an investment bank who lived on a great estate outside Moscow. The celebration at the Peterhof involved a performance by dancers from a prominent ballet company, with Sindeyeva taking the lead. When that party ended, it seemed she might float away to any make-believe she chose.
