World press on Putin (October 10-11, 2014)"What’s up with tough guy Vladmir Putin’s love for cute animals?" is an article which appeared in Washington Post on October 10. The article touches upon the migration of tiger Kuzya "adopted" by Russian President Vladimir Putin several years earlier to China. "While the Russian president may be a former KGB agent and expert in martial arts with a reputation as a fierce political leader, he has frequently shown his softer side around animals. He has a number of pet dogs (which he occasionally uses to intimidate rival leaders) and loves to be photographed with a variety of animals. Putin's love of animals beguiles political scientists. "Putin is very much at home with these animals," Burdett Loomis, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas, told The Washington Post, before adding: "He knows that they are great for photo opportunities," the article reads. "One idea is that he is trying to formulate – subconsciously, perhaps – yet another way of distinguishing Russia from Europe...Second, he seems to be saying: 'I love animals. So, I am not such a heartless dictator, as the Westerners tend to think I am.' Third, he says: 'I have a heart, but my love is tough, manly," the article reads.Another article dedicated to Putin appeared in Foreign Policy under the title "Vlad is Rad: Meet the hipster wing of Putin’s propaganda machine.""Set is the newest pro-Kremlin youth group attempting to win over well-educated young Russians to the cause of "Putin's Russia" -- and keep them from sympathizing with liberal values and Western-style democracy. But unlike the groups that came before it, Set isn't interested in rough-and-tumble street politics: banging drums at massive rallies or drowning out the opposition at protests. Instead, it wants to recruit creative youth, and develop their talents to promote Russian values worldwide, through a patriotic "new culture of business, entrepreneurship, ideology and art," said Artur Omarov, one of Set's founders. "We hope that for the rest of their lives they are going to create these businesses, enterprises, concepts and works of art with a genuine sympathy for how our country is set up," Omarov said."
"What’s up with tough guy Vladmir Putin’s love for cute animals?" is an article which appeared in Washington Post on October 10. The article touches upon the migration of tiger Kuzya "adopted" by Russian President Vladimir Putin several years earlier to China.
"While the Russian president may be a former KGB agent and expert in martial arts with a reputation as a fierce political leader, he has frequently shown his softer side around animals. He has a number of pet dogs (which he occasionally uses to intimidate rival leaders) and loves to be photographed with a variety of animals. Putin's love of animals beguiles political scientists. "Putin is very much at home with these animals," Burdett Loomis, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas, told The Washington Post, before adding: "He knows that they are great for photo opportunities," the article reads.
"One idea is that he is trying to formulate – subconsciously, perhaps – yet another way of distinguishing Russia from Europe...Second, he seems to be saying: 'I love animals. So, I am not such a heartless dictator, as the Westerners tend to think I am.' Third, he says: 'I have a heart, but my love is tough, manly," the article reads.
Another article dedicated to Putin appeared in Foreign Policy under the title "Vlad is Rad: Meet the hipster wing of Putin’s propaganda machine."
"Set is the newest pro-Kremlin youth group attempting to win over well-educated young Russians to the cause of "Putin's Russia" -- and keep them from sympathizing with liberal values and Western-style democracy. But unlike the groups that came before it, Set isn't interested in rough-and-tumble street politics: banging drums at massive rallies or drowning out the opposition at protests. Instead, it wants to recruit creative youth, and develop their talents to promote Russian values worldwide, through a patriotic "new culture of business, entrepreneurship, ideology and art," said Artur Omarov, one of Set's founders. "We hope that for the rest of their lives they are going to create these businesses, enterprises, concepts and works of art with a genuine sympathy for how our country is set up," Omarov said."
