Putin plays pied piper
From one despot to another, Russian President Vladimir Putin underlined his ‘can do’ image when he took to the skies in a motorised hand glider to guide a flock of young Siberian white cranes.
Dressed in a white costume, meant to imitate an adult crane, Putin was taking part in a project to teach the endangered birds to fly south for the winter.
The birds, bred in captivity and used to taking orders, were primed to follow the animal-loving president ahead of a trip to an international summit in Vladivostok. But the stunt proved to be a test of Putin’s leadership skills.
On his first flight only one crane followed him (due to high winds, it was reported by the RIA Novosti news agency). His second was more successful, with five birds in tow initially, before three lost interest and broke rank.
Unperturbed, and unamused by suggestions that it was nothing more a PR exercise, Putin shot back: “It shouldn’t be just for fun, but should have some use.”
This isn’t first time President Putin has made use of his considerable skills. He has tranquilised a tiger, used a crossbow to extract tissue from a whale and put a tracking collar on a polar bear.
But not everyone is convinced. Putin critic and magazine editor Masha Gessen left her post, saying she was fired for refusing to send a reporter to cover the crane flight. An official statement cited “differences” on the separation of editorial and publishing powers.
