Deer Mister President
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has a new ride - his own personal pureblood reindeer. The horned and hoofed gift is from a family in Yakutia.
The large Evenki family, recently awarded with the ?Parents? Glory? award on Tuesday in the Kremlin, decided to present Dmitry Medvedev with one of their reindeer. The Maksimov family?s decision was announced by the representative of the committee on family and childhood affairs for the President of Yakutia.
The Maksimovs, who live in the reindeer-breeding village of Iengra in the south of Yakutia, have handed to the President presents from the craftswomen of the village, and a symbol of power - a type of board with carved symbols.
However the most important gift waits for Medvedev in Maksimovs?s native village. It?s a reindeer, a symbol of happiness and prosperity of the Evenki people. The animal will live in the Yakutian village until its owner arrives personally to take it away.
There are 15 people in the Maksimov family. The head of the family, hunter Vladimir, his wife Olga, their five children, three grandsons, two nephews and three daughters-in-law.
It?s not the first time a Russian president has been given an animal. Earlier on his 43rd birthday Dmitry Medvedev was given two dogs, one for him and one for his son. In addition, he has an aquarium with goldfish - also a birthday gift.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his presidency was given thoroughbred horses, falcons, dogs? more than enough to build a small zoo.
Putin already has a tiger from Kazakhstan?s President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The King of Jordan sent Vladimir Putin three thoroughbred Arabian racers; the head of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf sent him two such horses, and a horse nicknamed ?Gulsary? was presented to Putin in Kyrgyzstan. At the opening ceremony of the International horse-racing complex "Kazan" Vladimir Putin and the President of Tatarstan were presented the smallest horses in the world. Mini-horses are even smaller than ponies, and they are very rare.
The most exotic gift received by Vladimir Putin was in 2002 on the day of his fiftieth birthday. The president of Moldova Vladimir Voronin brought him a live crocodile. Putin also received a white goat - a present from the Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov. One of Putin?s favorite pets is his Labrador Kony, given to him by the Minister of Emergencies Sergey Shoigu.
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