Lena

“I like it that Putin completes everything he starts. He is a very multi-faceted

person, for example he does judo, goes fishing and skiing. I think he is a good

role-model for young people. He has two daughters of my age, he is a family man,

he is friendly with everyone. He is a real diplomat. I want him to stay for the third

term because no one but him will be able to maintain stability in the country,

only he will be able to go on with the political course that he has started. Four

more years of such intensive development and we’ll reach the level of life of the

European countries having kept the traditions at the same time.”

�

PUTIN

FC PUTINBELA DOKA

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Fan clubs are big business around the world .

Members spend millions on merchandise and trips conventions, were they unite

under the collective glow of adoration for anything from STAR TREK to sausages.

But in the suburbs of Moscow a group of fresh-faced studentsin bright orange

t-shirts can claim to be part of one of the world’s most unusual appreciation

societies .

As they have an avarage age about �8, it would be reasonable to imagine the

object of their devotion to be a boy band or a hot new film star,but the �,500

members if the VV Fan Club have a more heavyweight idol - the Russian president,

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin .

The teenage members of the VV Putin fan club idolise their president as a sav-

iour - not , as many both inside and outside Russia beleive, a growing threat to

democracy and global stability .

The club’s founder, Igor Boiko, a �9-year-old social-work student at the Russian

State Social University, says : “ We want to draw people’s attention to the posi-

tive aspects of VV’s presidency...

He stopped the war with Chechnya and outlined the most important problems

facing the country, many of wich have been solved with visible results”

Manyof the female members of the group, wich has 450 activists on Moscow,

venerate the clean-living, strong and starngely handsome president as a father

figure, or even the ideal husband. “He is a perfect politician , sportsman and fa-

mily man! “ gushes Vika Matorina, �8 .

I spent � weeks with the VV fun club and was suprised by the level of sup-

port for Putin, whose image appears on posters above the student’s beds, on

badges, and superimposed over the Russian tricolore hanging next to make-

shift shrines.

“They spend hours chatting on the internet and even go to university wearing

Putin T-shirts, “I was really shocked at how they could feel such intense love for

him ...”

Since his rapid ascent to the Kremlin in �999, Putin stands accused by obser-

vers in and outside Russia of stifling press freedom, eroding democracy, abusing

his country’s huge energy clout and fostering a disturbing rise in nationalism.

But none of that corners the devotees of the Putin fan club , who have child-

hood memories of a poorer Russia under the beleaguered Boris Yeltsin.

Largely unknown to Russians efore he came to power, Putin gained huge popu-

lar support thanks to his though treatment of rebel Chechen guerillas and his

approval rating - currently standing around 80 per cent-has continued to climb

as the economy recovers from the chaos of �990s. Even accusations surranding

the murder in London of the dissident former - KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko

appear to be of little concern...

For the members of the fan club, Putin, a former KGB spy and Judo blackbelt him-

self, is irreplaceable and it feels sometimes frightening, because these people

represent the future Russia.

Simon Ushbore (Independent Magazin)

4 5Roman

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Lena

“I like it that Putin completes everything he starts. He is a very multi-faceted

person, for example he does judo, goes fishing and skiing. I think he is a good

role-model for young people. He has two daughters of my age, he is a family man,

he is friendly with everyone. He is a real diplomat. I want him to stay for the third

term because no one but him will be able to maintain stability in the country,

only he will be able to go on with the political course that he has started. Four

more years of such intensive development and we’ll reach the level of life of the

European countries having kept the traditions at the same time.”

8 9

�0 ��

Alina

“For me Putin is the president who has led our country out of the crisis and

raised us to a new level. When I joined the fan club I wanted to be active. I have

a Russian flag with Putin hanging on the wall above my desk in my room. Every

day I look for publications in the press, in the internet, I learn from newspapers

about what is going on in his political and personal life. I have a poster with his

portrait hanging near my bed. I also own a few t-shirts with Putin’s portrait, as

well as postcards and stickers. I consider myself a patriot.”

�� ��

�4 �5

Tanya Skoropistseva

If Putin hasn’t changed Russian politics we’d still be cheap labour force. He said

that Russia is the country to be taken into account and it can’t be a door mat.

I have t-shirts with «I want Putin». I want to knit a jumper with Russian flag

colours and his portrait. I want my husband to be like Putin.”

�� ��

Tanya Arkhipova

I have two t-shirts, one for the protest at the Georgian Embassy with Bush and

Saakashvili’s portraits and words «All of them are puppets in crafty hands», a

sweatshirt saying « I want to see… for the third term», a pin, a flag, a screen-

saver, many different postcards with his portrait. I like how Putin treats his

children and wife, I think he’s a great husband. He made people respect Russia,

I can tell by my parents. Life is more stable, the pensions and allowances are

rising, there’s development.“

�8 �9

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Igor Boiko

�4 �5

Nadya Toporivskaya

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Yulia Minazhetdinova

When I entered unviversity I met Igor and he invited me to the events, he said it

was interesting and every event was different. I really like Vladimir Vladimirovich,

he comes across as nice. I’m grateful to him that he ended the war in Chechnya,

that’s the most important thing. We paid the largest part of the external debt.

He raised pensions and social allowances. The city became better and it’s his

achievement. I have many things with his image: pins, several t-shirts, a screen-

saver. My fascination with VV helps me understand politics better, My parents

are against my hobby, they say I don’t understand politics but I don’t think so.

Putin is my hero, he inspires me, adds scence to my actions, I want to aspire

him too “.

�8 �9

FC Putin-Home

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Vika Matorina

Putin is the only one, he is the ideal! It had been the tsar before and now it’s Pu-

tin, he is like God to me. I perceive him as daddy. He is a perfect man – politician,

sportsman, family man! I want my husband to be like him! I wear a t-shirt with

his portrait to school – I want everyone to know that I’m his fan. I like how he

communicates with people, he’s very sincere and genuine. I want to jump with a

parachute like him but I’m a little afraid. “

�� ��

�4 �5

Yulya Nikolaeva

My boyfriend Kirill brought me to the club. I like VV and it’s interesting to watch

his actions. I can only say the best about him, he’s done so much for the coun-

try like no other president, Russia has resurrected with him and has risen to a

new level. A lot of attention is paid to culture and it’s very important. I’m very

interested in details of the president’s private and political life, I like reading

books and watching the news about him.”

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�8 �9

Yulya Pipilova

I have five different t-shirts with Putin’s portrait, several kinds of postcards with

VV on them: we design them and print them for everyone. The aim of our last

action was to show that we weren’t happy that VV didn’t want to change the

constitution and stay for the third term. I want a husband who’d be like Vladimir

Vladimirovich .”

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4� 4�

Tanya Kopilova

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