At the 2006 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Kaniskina finished in fifth place and won her first major medal, a silver, at the 2006 European Athletics Championships later that year.

She won her first global title the following year, taking the gold in the women's 20 km walk at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, beating compatriot Tatyana Shemyakina to the finish.

[1] She went on to set the 20 km championship record at the 2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup held in Russia, finishing with a time of 1:25:42.

[5] She improved one position from her 2006 performance to top the podium at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, claiming the women's 20 km title.

On March 25, 2015, the IAAF filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration in Lausanne, Switzerland, questioning the selective disqualification of the suspension periods of the six athletes involved, including the one for Kaniskina which had allowed her to keep her Olympic silver medal.