| Russia President Dmitry Medvedev and Russia Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dance in a new years cartoon broadcast on Channel One Russian TV. The accordion-playing Medvedev started the skit with a neat jump and shout of "hopa!" to which Putin replied: "Well done!" "Now your turn," said Medvedev. The cartoon Putin gamely hit the tambourine against his backside. "Great!" said Medvedev, admiringly. Using rhyming couplets and the elaborate wordplays beloved of Russians, the sketch gently poked fun at the situation created by the sharing of power by Medvedev and his Kremlin predecessor and mentor Putin. "I, for the second time, congratulate the people on the New Year," declaimed Medvedev, who took over from Putin in May 2008 after a meteoric ascendancy. "I know. But someone here has congratulated them nine times," pointed out the cartoon Putin. "Yes, I remember," conceded Medvedev. |
