No, you didn't misread the title, a museum centered on Russia's controversial president prime minister has been set up in Strelna, near Sankt Petersburg.
Apparently, this small museum dedicated to Vladimir Putin is set up on one of the upper floors of Lindstrom Villa, an iconic structure that hosted the 2006 G-8 summit. The villa was leased to Konstaninovsky Co., owned by Oleg Rudnov, the boss of most of Sankt Petersburg's media outlets, and a close friend of Putin. In return, Rudnov decided to turn one of the villa floors into a museum honoring Russia's former president and current prime minister.
The Vladimir Putin Museum currently features around 50 items, including one of his Judo kimonos, the helmet he wore during one of his pre-election flights, pens, ties and other memorabilia. Visitors can also admire several portraits of Putin, sketches and drawings like the one of the G-7 leaders. There's even a holographic exhibit where people watch a virtual Putin reading a book, looking out the window, scratching his pet dog and then stare in the distance, for about 3 minutes.
Since Rudnov is a close friend of Vladimir Putin, he was able to get his hands on some pretty important items, like the baseball bat he got from George W. Bush, or the Dostoievski novels translated in German, a present from Angela Merkel. While the most expensive item in the museum is a copy of the Russian constitution engraved in diamonds and rubies, the most impressive is one of the windows from Putin's grandmother's house, for nostalgic reasons, of course.
Mirza Turab Ali Baig
www.keralites.net |
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