MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin has appeared in a popular Russian cartoon for children, delivering a New Year’s message to the nation alongside a talking cat and dog.
Residents of Prostokvashino, the fictional village that gives its name to the show, are shocked when the animated version of the Kremlin leader, flanked by Sharik the dog and Matroskin the cat, greets Russians at the turn of the year.
Adults who accompanied their children to an amusement park Prostokvashino in Moscow were cautiously positive in their assessments.
“Look, I don’t know. I think anything can happen in a comic book. Why not?” said a woman, Marina.
Another visitor, Oksana Frolkova, said that children know who Putin is and seeing him in a cartoon is “probably important and interesting for them”. She said it could also generate interest from viewers outside the country.
Putin’s cameo was followed last year by Yuliana Slashcheva, chairman of the Soyuzmultfilm studio, who said Russia is selling its cartoons to former communist and Middle Eastern countries and is seeking to increase its presence in China.
The president’s appearance in Prostokvashino would be a form of “soft power” that would help promote Russia and its culture, she said.
