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
� �
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)
� �
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.”
�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.“
�� ��
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 “.
�0 ��
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.”
�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 .”