Cossacks in St. Peterbsurg recently unveiled a bust of President Vladimir Putin in the guise of a Roman emperor (Gazeta.ru, May 17). The bust, made from synthetic materials, was originally designed to be two and half times larger and made from bronze. It features a Nero-like Putin in a toga but without the ceremonial garland. According to the ataman (leader) of the St. Petersburg Cossacks, Andrei Polyakov, this arrangement means that the bust looks Roman but “he is still ours, he is Russian.” Polyakov explained the reasoning behind the statue as a wish “to immortalize Putin, the victor and statesman …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation