“Putin denies dancing to Abba hits”
This headline made me giggle a little bit. The BBC reported that an ABBA tribute band claims to have played a private concert for the PM in a private residence north of Moscow. Band members maintain that Putin danced in his chair to ‘Super Trooper’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ despite press releases by the Kremlin denying that the concert ever took place.
I really like the BBC’s coverage of Putin. They seem to keep a constant eye on his constructed public image. I find it hilarious that he feels the need to deny that he likes ABBA to maintain his macho image. I don’t have a great grasp of Russian culture, but my incling is that he would be criticized for anything less than a hypermasculine image. Which is sad in itself, because who wouldn’t want to sing along to ‘Mama Mia?’
