Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Putin celebrates 62th birthday in Siberian wilderness

File photo of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin posing for a picture as he fishes in the Krasnoyarsk territory in the Siberian Federal District in 2013.

Russian president Vladimir Putin decided to celebrate his 62th birthday in the Siberian taiga (a vast forested area) away from the supporters who created tributes in his honour across the country.

Putin celebrated his birthday relaxing somewhere in the Siberian forest, "300-400 kilometers from the nearest town or village," his press secretary Dmitri Peskov told Russian news media.

However, Peskov pointed out that the president was able to receive happy birthday wishes by phone and telegrams, “just like every year.”

Meanwhile, in Grozny, Chechnya, thousands marked the leaders’ birthday waving a giant Russian flag through the streets and dressed in the national colours. In Moscow, news websites published photographs from a one-day exhibition entitled “The 12 Labours of Vladimir Putin”, in which the president is depicted as Hercules battling Western nations disguised as monsters.

Putin is to resume his tight timetable with several official activities scheduled in the Siberian Federal District.