Happy Putin!

[Solver]

Much as you may wish for the opposite, spam still isn't acceptable in the Civ4 forums.

[LordShiva]

It was no different from other "I want civ X or leader Y in teh game" threads

[LordShiva]

[q=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7230404.stm]Film 'reveals' Putin's love life
A new film purported to be based on President Vladimir Putin's normally very private life is soon to be released in Russia.

The film, called A Kiss - Off the Record, is due to come out on Valentine's Day, but only on DVD.



Its fictional hero is a German-speaking St Petersburg Russian with a secretive job who marries a stewardess, has two daughters and rises to the presidency.

This matches the president's life story although his name is not mentioned.

The film was completed five years ago, but there has been speculation that the Kremlin delayed its release until now, weeks before President Putin leaves office.

Private man

[q=Film publicity]]What is he like in life and in the family? What is in his soul? Will he have room left in his heart for love?[/q]

Very little is known of President Putin's private life. His wife Ludmila rarely appears in public, and there are very few pictures of his grown-up daughters Maria and Katerina.

"What is he like in life and in the family? What is in his soul? Will he have room left in his heart for love?" the film's publicity brochure says of the fictional character.

The Kremlin was not consulted about the film, which was shot from 2001 to 2003, Anatoly Voropayev, the film's producer and a former deputy regional governor, told journalists at a preview.

"We live and work under a certain first person so when we speak about politics we cannot just ignore that," he said.

But the film's real heroine is the stewardess, who also bears the name Ludmila, said the film's artistic director Oleg Fomin.

"It is a family love story above all, it is a story about a woman whose husband is very busy at work, a woman who wants a family and children and wants to see her beloved person close to her," he said.

Some of the film's key scenes appear to recreate Vladimir Putin's first meeting with Ludmila, their marriage in 1983 and their move to Dresden in Germany where he worked for the KGB, reports say. [/q]

[Heraclitus]

A must see

[LordShiva]

[LordShiva]

[Saras]

This is why Putin is happy:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/07/wsummit207.xml

Russian girls support Vladimir Putin with pants

By Adrian Blomfield
Last Updated: 2:45am BST 07/04/2008

Russian girls wanting to appear both patriotic and seductive have been handed the ultimate weapon - underwear paying tribute to Vladimir Putin by a Kremlin-linked fashion designer.

Antonia Shapovalova, 20, a commissar in the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi, says her underwear will help tackle Russia's shrinking population by encouraging girls to have more babies.

The ribboned red-and-white knickers are emblazoned with the words "Vova, I'm with you" - a term of affection for Putin.

Experts say the main cause of the population crisis is the number of Russians drinking themselves to death and question whether donning a pair of "Putin Panties" will alleviate the problem.

Miss Shapovalova has also created T-shirts, with the biggest seller proclaiming "Government Health Warning: Reproduction is good for your health".

But although president-elect Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin supporter, has bought a T-shirt - he has not gone so far as to purchase the pants.

[LordShiva]

Vova

[MarkG]

is the commissar pictured in the photos?

[Julian Delphiki]

Happy

[LordShiva]

[Theben]

If any of those guys reaches for a robe and a hat, I'm outta here.

[LordShiva]

[Serb]

Originally posted by Julian Delphiki


Happy

Oh boy, that article was just an April's fool joke.

[Julian Delphiki]

And for that the newspaper which published it was closed down?

Joking doesn't pay in Russia.