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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin gets a tractor for his 70th birthday | Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin gets a tractor for his 70th birthday |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Mr Putin was given a certificate to say he had been presented with a Belarusian tractor | Mr Putin was given a certificate to say he had been presented with a Belarusian tractor |
| A tractor is one of the odder gifts for Vladimir Putin, as Russia's president, a pariah in the West since his invasion of Ukraine, turns 70. | A tractor is one of the odder gifts for Vladimir Putin, as Russia's president, a pariah in the West since his invasion of Ukraine, turns 70. |
| It was given him by his Belarusian ally, Alexander Lukashenko, whose country boasts a tractor works. | It was given him by his Belarusian ally, Alexander Lukashenko, whose country boasts a tractor works. |
| Mr Lukashenko confirmed the news as he visited his fellow strongman's home city, St Petersburg, for talks. | Mr Lukashenko confirmed the news as he visited his fellow strongman's home city, St Petersburg, for talks. |
| Mr Putin was hosting other leaders of ex-Soviet states as the war fanned by his invasion raged. | Mr Putin was hosting other leaders of ex-Soviet states as the war fanned by his invasion raged. |
| Faced with successful Ukrainian counter-attacks, he hinted at problems this week, describing the situation in regions he recently annexed as "restive". | Faced with successful Ukrainian counter-attacks, he hinted at problems this week, describing the situation in regions he recently annexed as "restive". |
| But on Friday, his allies lavished praise and gifts on the man who has led Russia, whether as president or prime minister, for more than two decades. | But on Friday, his allies lavished praise and gifts on the man who has led Russia, whether as president or prime minister, for more than two decades. |
| Mr Lukashenko, Europe's self-styled "last dictator" who has been in power even longer than the Russian leader (since 1994) and whose administration is also under Western sanctions, came to St Petersburg with a gift certificate for the Belarusian-made vehicle. | Mr Lukashenko, Europe's self-styled "last dictator" who has been in power even longer than the Russian leader (since 1994) and whose administration is also under Western sanctions, came to St Petersburg with a gift certificate for the Belarusian-made vehicle. |
| Seven key moments that made Putin | Seven key moments that made Putin |
| Belarus, Ukraine, Russia activists win Nobel prize | Belarus, Ukraine, Russia activists win Nobel prize |
| The Minsk Tractor Works is the flagship of Belarusian industry. | The Minsk Tractor Works is the flagship of Belarusian industry. |
| It was not immediately clear how Mr Putin responded to the big-wheeled gift, which had to compete with mountains of melons and watermelons from Tajikistan's President, Emomali Rahmon. | It was not immediately clear how Mr Putin responded to the big-wheeled gift, which had to compete with mountains of melons and watermelons from Tajikistan's President, Emomali Rahmon. |
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| However, it is a fact that Mr Putin has been frequently seen in tractors for some years now. | However, it is a fact that Mr Putin has been frequently seen in tractors for some years now. |
| Trying out a Fendt tractor with the then German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, at a trade fair in Hanover in 2005 | Trying out a Fendt tractor with the then German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, at a trade fair in Hanover in 2005 |
| At the wheel on a visit to the Russian city of Tambov in 2010 | At the wheel on a visit to the Russian city of Tambov in 2010 |
| Experiencing a tractor simulator at a factory in Rostov-on-Don in 2018 | Experiencing a tractor simulator at a factory in Rostov-on-Don in 2018 |
| Along with the gifts came praise for Mr Putin for "transforming the image of Russia, strengthening its sovereignty and its defence capability, and protecting its national interests", in the words of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. | Along with the gifts came praise for Mr Putin for "transforming the image of Russia, strengthening its sovereignty and its defence capability, and protecting its national interests", in the words of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. |
| "The number one patriot in the world" was how Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader, put it. | "The number one patriot in the world" was how Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader, put it. |
| Further afield, but dealing with similar international isolation, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated the man in the Kremlin for "crushing the challenges and threats of the United States". | Further afield, but dealing with similar international isolation, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated the man in the Kremlin for "crushing the challenges and threats of the United States". |
| Mr Putin's enemies used the occasion of his birthday again to depict him as a war criminal trying to destroy another country while ruining his own. | Mr Putin's enemies used the occasion of his birthday again to depict him as a war criminal trying to destroy another country while ruining his own. |
| Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov called on Russia's military to reject him and refuse to fight his war, saying Mr Putin was "hiding in a bunker rather than standing" with his soldiers. | Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov called on Russia's military to reject him and refuse to fight his war, saying Mr Putin was "hiding in a bunker rather than standing" with his soldiers. |
| Some social media users noted the irony of Mr Lukashenko's gift to Mr Putin: the humble tractor became an early symbol of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion after farmers were seen towing away abandoned military vehicles. | Some social media users noted the irony of Mr Lukashenko's gift to Mr Putin: the humble tractor became an early symbol of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion after farmers were seen towing away abandoned military vehicles. |
| In the Czech capital, Prague, demonstrators mocked Russia's president with a giant dummy depicting him as a naked emperor sitting on a golden toilet. | In the Czech capital, Prague, demonstrators mocked Russia's president with a giant dummy depicting him as a naked emperor sitting on a golden toilet. |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Russia-Ukraine war | Russia-Ukraine war |
| Kim Jong-un | Kim Jong-un |
| Russia | Russia |
| Prague | Prague |
| Alexander Lukashenko | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Vladimir Putin | Vladimir Putin |