Putin kissed boy 'like a kitten' Thursday, July 6, 2006; Posted: 1:07 p.m. EDT (17:07 GMT) MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Vladimir Putin's decision to stop a small boy as he walked through the Kremlin and kiss his stomach was prompted by a desire to "touch him like a kitten," the Russian president said on Thursday. The five-year-old boy, identified as Nikita Konkin by the press, was clearly stunned by the kiss and speculation over Putin's motivation has run wild in the week since it happened. Curious Internet users propelled the issue to the top of a list of questions put to Putin in an interactive Web cast. ( Watch Putin and the boy -- :45) "People came up and I began talking to them, among them this little boy. He seemed to me very independent, sure of himself and at the same time defenseless so to speak, an innocent boy and a very nice little boy," Putin told the Web cast. "I tell you honestly, I just wanted to touch him like a kitten and that desire of mine ended in that act." The Izvestia daily, which tracked down Nikita, discovered that he had refused to wash after that kiss. "I just liked him and he liked me very much. I want to be president myself," the five-year-old told the paper. Putin was shown by state television chatting to graduates of military academies before he took a walk through one of the Kremlin's courtyards, often full of tourists. He stopped and spoke to Nikita who turned away shyly. "What is your name?" Putin asked, kneeling down in front of the fair-haired boy and holding him by the waist. "Nikita," the clearly shocked boy answered, looking from side to side. Putin then lifted the boy's shirt and kissed him on his stomach. The Russian president then patted the boy on the head and walked off through a crowd of astonished tourists. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/06/russia.putin.reut/index.html
Clearly heads of state who happen to be fathers have no business showing affection toward their fellow citizens. God forbid an American President do the same to an American child. Putin has obviously lost his mind and revealed to the world that he is a pedophile. We should all prepare for Armageddon. :eek:
I think this is another attempt from US media to slander Putin. In Russia kissing doesn't necessarily have a sexual meaning, over there it may be considered as a "blood brothers" ritual or something like that. They kiss a lot.... they kiss in the mouth as welcome ritual...
Speaking from the position to understand, kissing does have other meanings than US culture portrays it. But there is nothing in Russian culture about kissing the stomach. As someone who lived there for years and is married to a Russian, I definitely raised an eyebrow. My wife just said "so he has a fetish."
Please explain this further. I have seen kids getting kissed affectionately on the stomach all over the world.
Don't worry guys BBC's got the answer... ************************** Putin recalls kissing boy's belly Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his controversial kissing of a boy on the stomach was just a spontaneous gesture of affection. Mr Putin came across Nikita, five, in the Kremlin last week, lifted up his T-shirt and suddenly kissed him. "He seemed very independent and serious... I wanted to cuddle him like a kitten and it came out in this gesture. He seemed so nice," he said. The kiss - shown on Russian television - triggered huge public interest. "There is nothing behind it", Mr Putin told the BBC in a live webcast on Thursday, explaining that the encounter on 28 June was quite spontaneous. Nikita was among a group of tourists visiting the Kremlin. The kiss triggered intense speculation in the Russian and foreign media, with questions being raised about the president's motivation. More than 11,000 people asked Mr Putin to explain what prompted his act during the webcast organised by the BBC and Russia's Yandex website. Russia's Izvestia newspaper, which later found Nikita, reported that he had refused to wash after the kiss. "I just liked him [Mr Putin] and he liked me very much. I want to be president myself," the boy was quoted by the daily as saying. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5155448.stm
the author of this thread obviously has deep seated insecurities ... possibly his daddy didn't show him enough attention?
sorry thunderupyouralley..... some days I just feel like stirring up a little controversy.... it's just entertainment.