Russian PM Putin Attempts To Soften His Image To The West

In August 2009, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia rode a horse in southern Siberia. Mr. Putin was recently interviewed by a blogger for Outdoor Life magazine, in which he spoke of the fragility of life. Pool photo by Alexei Druzhinin

Texas Blogger’s ‘Man Crush’ On Putin Leads To Lengthy Heart To Heart -- The Telegraph

MOSCOW — Gayne C. Young, a high school English teacher from Fredericksburg, Tex., is not a specialist in foreign policy. The blog he writes for Outdoor Life, a magazine for hunters and fishermen, focuses on subjects like his Labrador puppy, unusually large carp and a subdivision near his home that has been overrun by feral hogs.

Nonetheless, last week Mr. Young scored a journalistic coup, publishing a lengthy written interview with Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin. Mr. Young approached the Russian government last year after blogging repeatedly about his “man crush” on Mr. Putin, and the questions he sent the Russian prime minister were, shall we say, softballs. They included, “Are there Yetis or Russian ‘wood goblins’ in the taiga?” and “Are you the coolest man in politics?”

Read more ....

My Comment: My nationality is Russian .... so I follow Russian politics closely. But after reading this puff piece on Putin .... my eyeballs are looking skyward right now.