Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated his 70th birthday today (Friday) with relatively moderate celebrations in the shadow of the Ukrainian counterattack. Putin also received some surprising gifts from his associates and subordinates, including a voucher for a tractor he received from the leader of Belarus Lukashenko, and dozens of melons and pumpkins sent to him by the president of Tajikistan.
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Alexander Lukashenko’s present for him is a bit of a cop-out
He’s given Putin a Belarusian tractor voucher pic.twitter.com/XrMhVZFxWG
— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) October 7, 2022
As mentioned, the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Putin, gave the president a gift voucher for a tractor. Tractors are a Belarusian industry that has been considered the country’s pride since Soviet times. Lukashenko even told reporters that he uses a similar model in his garden to the one he gave Putin as a gift.
It is not clear how the Russian leader reacted to the gift, which was revealed by Lukashenko’s office. Putin did not mention the gift in televised remarks at the start of the meeting when he spoke of the need to discuss ways to resolve conflicts between former Soviet states. He also emphasized the need to exchange information to fight terrorism, illegal drugs and other crime.
During the celebrations, the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow asked the Russian people to pray for Putin’s health and even urged the country to devote two days of special prayer so that God would grant Putin “health and longevity.”
“We pray to you, our Lord our God, for the head of the Russian state, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and ask you to give him your rich mercy and generosity, to grant him health and longevity, and to save him from all the opposition of visible and invisible. Enemies, bless him with wisdom and spiritual power, because Everyone, God hear and have mercy,” said the patriarch.
“Today, our national leader, one of the most influential and prominent personalities of our time, the number one patriot in the world, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, celebrates 70 years!” said the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. “Putin changed Russia’s global position and forced the world to consider the position of our great country.”
Most world leaders ignored the Russian president’s birthday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent Putin a birthday greeting, praising him for handling the “challenges and threats” of the United States and praising his leadership, according to the KCNA news agency.
“Today, Russia defends the honor of the country and its basic interests from challenges and threats from the United States and its subjects. Such a reality would be intolerable if it were not for your honorable leadership and your strong will.” Kim said that relations between Pyongyang and Moscow are “stronger than ever”.