Putin: protesters' ribbons 'look like contraceptives'

PRIME MINISTER Vladimir Putin today dismissed the Russian election protesters by saying their white ribbons "look like contraceptives, [it’s] like they are fighting Aids". It was one of several typically forthright remarks made during his annual televised phone-in show.
 
This was the first time Putin had spoken publicly about the protests that erupted in Russia after the 4 December parliamentary elections.

Initially, he struck a sympathetic tone, even suggesting surveillance cameras might be introduced in polling stations to prevent electoral fraud - the main grievance of the protesters.
 
As the questions continued, however, Putin took a more belligerent tone. He insisted his United Russia party had won fairly - “The outcome definitely reflects the actual situation and preferences of the Russian people” – before accusing liberal opponents of paying youths to demonstrate against him. He also accused the West of orchestrating the dissent.

A caller asked about the sacking of two journalists from Kommersant Vlast after the magazine ran an election article with a picture of a ballot paper with ‘Fuck off Putin’ written on it. The Premier said he found the report funny but went on to imply that London-based enemies – perhaps meaning Boris Berezovsky - were responsible.

"I think this is people living in London. We know the kind of people living in London these days,” Putin said, although he later professed a life-long passion for London-born writer Rudyard Kipling. “I’ve been a great fan of Kipling since childhood.”
 
He responded to criticism from John McCain by calling the US senator “crazy”, adding that the Vietnam veteran “has blood of innocent people on his hands”. By contrast, Putin had only kind words for brutal Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, saying he “rebuilt Grozny like nobody else".

Several analysts felt this was a run-of-the-mill Putin performance, with The Guardian’s Luke Donald claiming it was “the same show we’ve seen [before] and a lot of people are tired of it”. On Twitter much of the discussion focused on Putin’s appearance, with the Russian word for Botox trending at one point. ·