Set for meeting with Putin

On the eve of the press conference with the president of accredited journalists, cards with kings were issued

The New Times correspondent received a gift from the presidential administration along with the accrediting badge - an impressive size of a stylish black box with golden embossing. Inside was a set of “young journalist” - a paper block for recordings, a notebook, a clipboard with a sticker “Made in Poland, the expiration date is not limited”, a wooden pencil case (inside - a sharpener, a ruler, Sterca and pencils) and ... a set of cards with portraits of kings and emperors of the Romanov dynasty.

Why portraits of the Romanovs? The logic of the “Kremlin” gift was clarified by the huge calendar for 2013 with portraits of members of the tsarist dynasty, which was found right there, in the package: it turns out that in the summer of the next year the country will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Romanov House. Portraits of rulers on the calendar are accompanied by entertaining stories from their life: “Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich ordered to change indecent surnames. Between the other, Colonel Zassa issued his daughter for the Riga garrison officer Rantsev. Zass said that his surname is ancient and therefore Rantsev should change the surname to Zassis-Wrants.

It seems that people with a sense of humor are clogged into the press service and information of the President of the Russian Federation. Perhaps the press conference of Vladimir Putin will also bring surprises.

In total, 1226 journalists (1040 Russian and 186 foreign) were accredited to the press conference.