The Russian Prime Minister finds a sudden "friend" in Murmansk
Election time is a period when certain politicians lose all sense of measure. If they have nothing to show to the electorate, they boast of their friendship with celebrities. Sergei Subbotin, a candidate for the post of Mayor of Murmansk, is running his campaign under the informal slogan of a Putin pal. True, as it often happens, it is unlikely that the Prime Minister knows his self-named friend and associate from Adam.
No one can tell who advised Mr Subbotin to claim Vladimir Putin as his friend. But Mr Subbotin is going about it in a big way. In an interview to the newspaper Novosti Zapolyarnykh Gorodov, the former Deputy Governor describes his life and some of its details, which he says go in parallel with the Prime Minister's. Even his dog, as he often reminds everybody, is a black Labrador, which fact is duly mentioned in the candidate's official biography posted on the website of the Murmansk regional government.
Another important proof of friendship is that Mr Subbotin served in foreign intelligence. And, as he tells the press, he worked in Germany at the same time with Mr Putin. "I am often asked if I had met Vladimir Putin back then because he also served in Germany," Mr Subbotin says modestly. "I will answer you in this way: It is not a habit of mine to boast friendship with big names. Many of my comrades joined the Putin team, and I am proud to have worked with them. We are still on good terms with each other."
The trifling fact that Mr Subbotin served in Germany at a different time from the Prime Minister does not alter the general perspective, although the information is easy to cull from open sources. What is more interesting is whether the Murmansk voters will rise up to such crude bait? In my view, only Mr Subbotin's professional incompetence can explain his tales of friendship with a popular politician.
Nikolai Kazulin
